The Risk and Protective Factors for Noncommunicable Diseases

The article presents modern data on non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and their risk factors. The tendency of increasing mortality from NCDs due to increase in the number and aging of the population is noted. The data is presented testifying that, in addition to biological risk factors, influence of environmental factors is increasing, including atmospheric and household air pollution, the levels of which are high in a significant number of countries. It is emphasized that green spaces (e.g., trees, grass, forests and parks) and blue spaces (e.g., lakes, rivers, ponds, etc.) provide beneficial effect on human health, being in fact protective factors for NCDs. The NCD risk factors are found to interact closely with each other: air pollution, depression, tobacco smoking, high blood pressure and obesity have been linked to all NCDs. The evidence is provided that presence of behavioral risk factors for NCDs exacerbates severity of infectious pathology, particularly COVID-19 and other infectious diseases (influenza, HIV, tuberculosis, hepatitis, etc.). Given that NCD risk factors can occur in early childhood, promoting healthy lifestyles among expectant mothers and adolescents should be a priority to reduce NCD risks, especially in low- and middle-income countries.