About this Research Topic

Background

The COVID-19 pandemic represented a milestone for global public health. By October 2022, the World Health Organization counts more than 620 million cases and 6 million deaths caused by the disease. Among its impacts, it is observed that sectors such as education, economy, and food are still recovering from the experienced effects of this event. Furthermore, in the public health domain, it is necessary to better understand ways that this disease affects people in the long term, as well as the detection and control of chronic diseases before the appearance of COVID-19. In turn, this allows for the impact of COVID-19 on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as part of the 2030 Agenda to be acknowledged and addressed.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, inequalities were exacerbated and strategies for controlling and/or preventing non-communicable diseases (NCDs) were weakened. It has been reported that COVID-19 has led people to engage in at least one of the four main unhealthy habits of NCDs: tobacco use, harmful use of alcohol, poor diet, and insufficient physical activity. Moreover, COVID-19 influences the most common types of chronic conditions, such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and respiratory diseases, as well as the natural course of the disease and vice versa. The combination of this new infectious disease with chronic diseases results in a poorer prognosis for people with both conditions. Thus, the World Health Organization and the United Nations Development Programme (UNPD) work to improve health in a sustainable environment aligned with the 2030 Agenda. The focus on the fields most impacted by COVID-19 may address the social, economic, commercial, and environmental determinants of NCDs and vice versa.

There is an urgent need to understand how the pandemic is affecting people in the long term, especially those with chronic NCDs. It is essential to understand that intersectoral actions are essential within the public health field aiming to improve global health. Therefore, this Research Topic aims to foster debate about the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the detection and control of chronic non-communicable diseases, considering the impact on the SDGs 2030 Agenda. This collection welcomes original articles and literature reviews. Topics include, but are not limited to:

• Models of the natural history of the disease;
• Models of long COVID;
• Influence of COVID-19 on chronic NCDs;
• Influence of chronic NCDs on long-term COVID;
• Vaccination coverage in populations with chronic diseases;
• Surveillance of risk factors of NCDs and/or COVID-19;
• Study of social determinants of health on people with COVID-19 and NCDs;
• Social protection, 2030 Agenda, and Sustainable Development Goals for people affected by COVID-19 and NCDs;
• Intersectoral strategies for reducing non-communicable diseases and promoting health during public health emergencies;
• Global health and sustainable vigilance systems of NCDs in the post-COVID-19 era;
• Global health and SDGs 2030 Agenda to improve risk factors surveillance in low and middle-income countries.

Keywords: chronic non-communicable diseases, public health, global health, sustainable development, infectious diseases, surveillance

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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