Priorities in tackling non-communicable diseases in children and adolescents in China

Abstract

China was one of the top ten fast-track countries towards achieving the UN Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5 by 2015, and has since made substantial progress in child and adolescent health. 1 Qiao J Wang Y Li X et al. A Lancet Commission on 70 years of women's reproductive, maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health in China. Lancet. 2021; 397: 2497-2536 Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Google Scholar Over the past decades, the country has undergone an epidemiological transition towards non-communicable diseases (NCDs). The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) has estimated that disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) caused by NCDs among children and adolescents aged 0–19 years in China exceeded 13 million in 2019, accounting for 50·30% of all-cause DALYs among children and adolescents aged 0–19 years in China. This loss of healthy life-years necessitates a more effective and equitable approach that is responsive to the country's increasing NCD burden. To address this enormous challenge, prevention and timely diagnosis of, and early intervention for, NCDs should be a prominent focus of paediatric health services in China. Given the long-term burden of NCDs, such a focus is crucial in achieving progress towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), WHO's Global Strategy for Women's, Children's and Adolescents' Health (2016–2030), and Healthy China 2030. 2 WHOThe Global Strategy for Women's, Children's and Adolescents' Health (2016–2030): survive, thrive, transform. https://www.everywomaneverychild.org/global-strategy/#Date: September, 2015 Date accessed: August 26, 2020 Google Scholar , 3 The State Council of the People's Republic of ChinaHealthy China 2030. http://www.gov.cn/zhengce/2016-10/25/content_5124174.htmDate: October, 2016 Date accessed: November 13, 2022 Google Scholar