Diseases of poverty

Diseases of poverty is a term sometimes used to collectively describe diseases and health conditions that are more prevalent among the poor than among wealthier people. In many cases poverty is considered the leading risk factor or determinant for such diseases, and in some cases the diseases themselves are identified as barriers to economic development that would end poverty. These diseases are in contrast to so-called "diseases of affluence", which are diseases thought to be a result of increasing wealth in a society.

For many environmental and social reasons, including crowded living and working conditions, inadequate sanitation, and disproportionate occupation as sex workers, the poor are more likely to be exposed to infectious diseases. Malnutrition, stress, overwork, and inadequate, inaccessible, or non-existent health care can hinder recovery and exacerbate the disease.^[1] Malnutrition is associated with 54% of childhood deaths from diseases of poverty, and lack of skilled attendants during childbirth is primarily responsible for the high maternal and infant death rates among the poor.^[2][3]

Each year many children and adults die as a result of a lack of access to clean drinking water and poor sanitation. Many combinable diseases and many of the poverty related diseases spread as a result of inadequate access to clean drinking water. According to UNICEF 3,000 children die every day, worldwide due to contaminated drinking water and poor sanitation.^[4] Although the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of halving the number of people who did not have access to clean water by 2015, was reached five years ahead of schedule in 2010, there are still 783 million people who rely on unimproved water sources.^[4]

Contaminated water and inadequate sanitation are related to diseases of poverty such as malaria, parasitic diseases, and schistosomiasis.^[5] These infections act as cofactors that increase the risk of HIV transmission.^[6]

Malnutrition disproportionately affect those in sub-Saharan Africa. Over 35 percent of children under the age of 5 in sub-Saharan Africa show physical signs of malnutrition.^[7] Malnutrition, the immune system, and infectious diseases operate in a cyclical manner: infectious diseases have deleterious effects on nutritional status, and nutritional deficiencies can lower the strength of the immune system which affects the body’s ability to resist infections.^[7] Similarly, malnutrition of both macronutrients (such as protein and energy) and micronutrients (such as iron, zinc, and vitamins) increase susceptibility to HIV infections by interfering with the immune system and through other biological mechanisms. Depletion of macronutrients and micronutrients promotes viral replication that contributes to greater risks of HIV transmission from mother-to-child as well as those through sexual transmission.^[8] Increased mother-to-child transmission is related to specific deficiencies in micronutrients such as vitamin A.^[9][10] Further, anemia, a decrease in red the number of red blood cells, increases viral shedding in the birth canal, which also increases risk of mother-to-child transmission.^[11] Without these vital nutrients, the body lacks the defense mechanisms to resist infections.^[7] At the same time, HIV lowers the body’s ability to intake essential nutrients. HIV infection can affect the production of hormones that interfere with the metabolism of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats.^[7]

In the United States, 11.1 percent of households struggle with food insecurity. ^[12] Food insecurity refers to the lack of access to quality food for a healthy lifestyle.^[12] The rate of hunger and malnutrition in female headed households was three times the national average at 30.2 percent. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 10 percent of the population in Latin America and the Caribbean are affected by hunger and malnutrition.^[13]

Degrees of social status are closely linked to health inequalities. ^[14] Those with poor health tend to fall into poverty and the poor tend to have poor health. According to the World Health Organization, within countries those of lower socioeconomic strata have the worst health outcomes. Health also appears to have a strong social component linking it to education and access to information. ^[15] In terms of health, poverty includes low income, low education, social exclusion and environmental decay.^[16]. The poor within most countries are trapped in a cycle in which poverty breeds ill health and ill health breeds poverty. ^[17]

Socioeconomic status affects three areas of health; healthcare in general, environmental exposure, and health behavior. When examining child health within the United States, those with the worst health were found to be those from low incomes families and those with little education. As socioeconomic status increased so did overall health outcomes. ^[18] The same was found for African American children as well as Hispanic children with indicators of health improving as income and education levels increased.^[18] For adults within the United States, health status and life expectancy improved as education levels and levels of income increased across racial groups.^[18]

In sub-Saharan Africa, there are extreme differences in the maternal and child health indicators between the richest and poorest 20 percent of the populations. ^[19] Many African countries also face regional and geographic disparities. By 2025 the rural population of Africa is expected to grow from 510 to 702 million people and these populations face deteriorating conditions, such as poor sanitation, that adversely affects their health.^[20] In rural communities of Ghana for example, poverty has become the largest determinant of poor health and life expectancy. In the case of Ghana and other developing countries, poverty causes more death and illness than plague, pestilence or faming.^[16] Of the Developing World Latin America appears to have the highest inequalities in child health between the poor and non-poor.^[17] Poor populations of both the developed and developing world face the challenges of limited access to care, a lack of information about healthcare options, and living conditions that predispose them to many poverty related diseases. In all parts of the world, including industrialized nations the gap in health inequalities is growing rather than narrowing.^[17] There are a number of underlying causes for these disparities, such as a lack of control by poor women over household resources leading to poor health outcomes for children, as well as a lack of availability of health resources in poorer areas. ^[17]

See also: Social determinants of health in poverty

The majority of diseases and related mortality in poor countries is due to preventable, treatable diseases for which medicines and treatment regimes are readily available. Poverty is in many cases the single dominating factor in higher rates of prevalence of these diseases. Poor hygiene, ignorance in health-related education, non-availability of safe drinking water, inadequate nutrition and indoor pollution are factors exacerbated by poverty.^[21]

Just the big three PRDs — TB, AIDS/HIV and Malaria — account for 18% of diseases in poor countries.^[21] The disease burden of treatable childhood diseases in high-mortality, poor countries is 5.2% in terms of disability-adjusted life years but just 0.2% in the case of advanced countries.^[21]

In addition, infant mortality and maternal mortality are far more prevalent among the poor. For example, 98% of the 11,600 daily maternal and neonatal deaths occur in developing countries.^[2]

Together, diseases of poverty kill approximately 14 million people annually.^[22] Gastroenteritis with its associated diarrhea results in about 1.8 million deaths in children yearly with most of these in the world's poorest nations.^[23]

At the global level, the three primary poverty-related diseases (PRDs) are AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis.^[24] Developing countries account for 95% of the global AIDS prevalence^[25] and 98% of active tuberculosis infections.^[22] Furthermore, 90% of malaria deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa.^[26] Together, these three diseases account for 10% of global mortality.^[24]

Treatable childhood diseases are another set which have disproportionately higher rates in poor countries despite the availability of cures for decades. These include measles, pertussis and polio.^[21]

Three other diseases, measles, pneumonia, and diarrheal diseases, are also closely associated with poverty, and are often included with AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis in broader definitions and discussions of diseases of poverty.^[27]

Neglected diseases Similar to the spread of tropical neglected diseases in developing nations, these neglected infections disproportionately affect poor and minority populations in the United States. ^[28] These diseases have been identified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as priorities for public health action based on the number of people infected, the severity of the illnesses, and the ability to prevent and treat them. ^[29]

Trichomoniasis is the most common STI affecting more than 200 million people worldwide. It is especially prevalent among young, poor and African American Women. This infection is also common in poor communities is Sub-Saharan Africa and impoverished parts of Asia. This neglected infection is one of special concern because it is associated with a heightened risk for contracting HIV and pre-term deliveries. ^[30]

Within the United States, African Americans and Latinos are four times more likely to suffer from severe asthma than white. The disease is closely tied to poverty and poor living conditions.^[31] Asthma is also prevalent in children in low income countries. Homes in poor communities with roaches and mice, as well as mold and mildew put children at risk for developing asthma.

Though heart disease is not exclusive to the poor, there are aspects of a life of poverty that contribute to its development. This category includes coronary heart disease, strokes and heart attacks. Heart disease is the leading cause of death worldwide and there are disparities of morbidity between the rich and poor. Studies from around the world link heart disease to poverty. Low neighborhood income and education were associated with higher risk factors. Poor diet, lack of exercise and limited (or no) access to a specialist were all factors related to poverty, though to contribute to heart disease.^[32]

HIV/AIDS Many of the countries in Sub-Saharan Africa are ravaged with poverty and many people live on less than one United States dollar a day. ^[33] The poverty in these countries gives rise to many other factors that explain the high prevalence of AIDS. The poorest people in most African countries suffer from malnutrition, lack of access to clean water, and have improper sanitation. Because of a lack of clean water many people are plagued by intestinal parasites that significantly increase their chances of contracting HIV due to compromised immune system. Malaria, a disease still rampant in Africa also increases the risk of contracting HIV. These parasitic diseases, affect the body’s immune response to HIV, making people more susceptible to contracting the disease once exposed. Genital schistosomiasis, also prevalent in the topical areas of Sub-Saharan Africa and many countries worldwide, produces genital lesions and attract CD4 cells to the genital region which promotes HIV infection. All these factors contribute to the high rate of HIV in Sub-Saharan Africa. Many of the factors seen in Africa are also present in Latin America and the Caribbean and contribute to the high rates of infections seen in those regions. In the United States, poverty is a contributing factor to HIV infections. There is also a large racial disparity, with African Americans having a significantly higher rate of infection than their white counterparts.^[33]

Tuberculosis is the leading cause of death around the world for an infectious disease. ^[34]This disease is especially prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa, and the Latin American and Caribbean region. While the tuberculosis rate is decreasing in the rest of the world, it is increasing by rate of 6 percent per year in Sub-Saharan Africa. It is the leading cause of death for people with HIV in Africa. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, in the United States, tuberculosis is more prevalent among foreign born persons, and ethnic minorities. The rates are especially high among Hispanics, Blacks and Asians.^[35]

Diseases of poverty reflect the dynamic relationship between poverty and poor health; while such diseases result directly from poverty, they also perpetuate and deepen impoverishment by sapping personal and national health and financial resources. For example, malaria decreases GDP growth by up to 1.3% in some developing nations, and by killing tens of millions in sub-Saharan Africa, AIDS alone threatens “the economies, social structures, and political stability of entire societies”.^[36][37]

Women and children are often put at a high risk of being infected by schiostosomiasis, which in turn puts them at a higher risk of acquiring HIV.^[6] Since the mode of schiostosomiasis transmission is usually through contaminated water in streams and lakes, women and children who do their household chores by the water are more likely to acquire the disease. Activities that women and children often do around waterfront include washing clothes, collecting water, bathing, and swimming.^[6][38] Women who have schiostosomiasis lesions are three times more likely to be infected with HIV.^[39]

Women also have a higher risk of HIV transmission through the use of medical equipment such as needles.^[6] Because more women than men use health services, especially during pregnancy, they are more likely to come across unsterilized needles for injections.^[40][39] Although statistics estimate that unsterilized needles only account for 5 to 10 percent of primary HIV infections, studies show this mode of HIV transmission may be higher than reported.^[6][41] This increased risk of contracting HIV through non-sexual means has social consequences for women as well. Over half of the husbands of HIV-positive women in Africa tested HIV-negative.^[42] When HIV-positive women reveal their HIV status to their HIV-negative husbands, they are often accused of infidelity and face violence and abandonment from their family and community.^[6][42]

Malnutrition associated with HIV impacts people’s ability to provide for themselves and their dependents, thus limiting the human capabilities of both themselves and their dependents.^[7] HIV can negatively affect work output, which impacts the ability to generate income.^[43] This is crucial in parts of Africa where farming is the primary occupation and obtaining food is dependent on the agricultural outcome. Without adequate food production, malnutrition becomes more prevalent. Children are often collateral damage in the AIDS crisis. As dependents, they can be burdened by the illness and eventual death of one or both parents due to HIV/AIDS. Studies have shown that orphaned children are more likely to display physical symptoms of malnutrition than children whose parents are both alive.^[7]

• Nutrition Supplements: Focusing on reversing the pattern of malnutrition in sub-Saharan African and other poor countries is a one possible way of decreasing susceptibility to HIV infections. Micronutrients such as iron and vitamin A can be delivered and provided at a very low cost. For example, vitamin A supplements cost $0.02 per capsule if provided twice a year. Iron supplements per child cost $0.02 if provided weekly or $0.08 if provided daily.^[6]
• Eliminating Cofactors: Tackling the very diseases that increase risk of HIV infections can help slow down the rates of HIV transmission. Cofactors such as malaria and parasitic infections can be combated in an effective and cost-efficient manner. For example, mosquito nets can be easily used to prevent malaria.^[6] Parasites can be eliminated with medication that is cost-effective and easy to administer. Twice-yearly treatments range from $0.02 to $0.25 depending on the type of worm.^[44][45]

There are a number of proposals for reducing the diseases of poverty and eliminating health disparities within and between countries. The World Health Organization proposes closing the gaps by acting on social determinants. ^[14] Their first recommendation is to improve daily living conditions. This area involves improving the lives of women and girls so that their children are born in healthy environments and placing an emphasis on early childhood health. Their second recommendation is to tackle the inequitable distribution of money, power and resources. This would involve building stronger public sectors and changing the way in which society is organized. Their third recommendation is to measure and understand the problem and assess the impact of action. This would involve training policy makers and healthcare practitioners to recognize problems and form policy solutions. ^[14]

• United Nations Population Fund: State of World Population 2002
• RESULTS: World Health/Diseases of Poverty
• Roll Back Malaria Global Partnership
• Agriculture and HIV/AIDS : understanding the links between agriculture and health (brief) by Stuart Gillespie (2006) International Food Policy Research Institute