The research output on interventions for the behavioural risk factors alcohol & drug use and dietary risk is not related to their respective burden of ill health in countries at differing World Bank income levels
The research output on interventions for the behavioural risk factors alcohol & drug use and dietary risk is not related to their respective burden of ill health in countries at differing World Bank income levels
Background: alcohol and drug use (A&D) and dietary risks are two increasingly important risk factors. This study examines whether there is a relationship between the burden of these risk factors in countries of specific income bands as defined by the World Bank, and the number of primary studies included in Cochrane Systematic Reviews (CSRs) conducted in those countries.
Methods: data was extracted from primary studies included in CSRs assessing two risk factors as outcomes. For each risk factor, data was obtained on its overall burden in disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) by World Bank Income Levels and examined for a link between DALYs, the number of primary studies and participants.
Results: a total of 1601 studies from 95 CSRs were included. Only 18.3% of the global burden for A&D is in high income-countries (HICs) but they produced 90.5% of primary studies and include 99.5% of participants. Only 14.2% of the dietary risk burden is in HICs but they produced 80.5% of primary studies and included 98.1% of participants.
Conclusions: this study demonstrates the unequal output of research heavily weighted towards HICs. More initiatives with informed contextual understanding are required to address this inequality and promote health research in low and middle-income countries.
Alcohol Drinking/prevention & control, Alcohol-Related Disorders/prevention & control, Cost of Illness, Cross-Sectional Studies, Diet, Health Promotion, Health Risk Behaviors, Humans, Quality-Adjusted Life Years, Risk Factors, Substance-Related Disorders/prevention & control
Frassetto, Carlo
ba89acb5-b32c-431b-96a0-7bba352d7bab
Madera, Meisser
af97e05c-6f43-4a2a-bb30-8bcc4fdc0899
Siebert, Maximilian
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Megranahan, Karen
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Roberts, David
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Plugge, Emma
b64d2086-6cf2-4fae-98bf-6aafa3115b35
December 2020
Frassetto, Carlo
ba89acb5-b32c-431b-96a0-7bba352d7bab
Madera, Meisser
af97e05c-6f43-4a2a-bb30-8bcc4fdc0899
Siebert, Maximilian
586fbdec-f952-4078-9ae4-4b3c0406a5b7
Megranahan, Karen
6fa76a09-6d95-4c5c-a788-f54541013c15
Roberts, David
07128a92-3bf3-4016-8379-47528cc3c740
Plugge, Emma
b64d2086-6cf2-4fae-98bf-6aafa3115b35
Frassetto, Carlo, Madera, Meisser, Siebert, Maximilian, Megranahan, Karen, Roberts, David and Plugge, Emma
(2020)
The research output on interventions for the behavioural risk factors alcohol & drug use and dietary risk is not related to their respective burden of ill health in countries at differing World Bank income levels.
Journal of Global Health, 10 (2), [020401].
(doi:10.7189/jogh.10.020401).
Abstract
Background: alcohol and drug use (A&D) and dietary risks are two increasingly important risk factors. This study examines whether there is a relationship between the burden of these risk factors in countries of specific income bands as defined by the World Bank, and the number of primary studies included in Cochrane Systematic Reviews (CSRs) conducted in those countries.
Methods: data was extracted from primary studies included in CSRs assessing two risk factors as outcomes. For each risk factor, data was obtained on its overall burden in disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) by World Bank Income Levels and examined for a link between DALYs, the number of primary studies and participants.
Results: a total of 1601 studies from 95 CSRs were included. Only 18.3% of the global burden for A&D is in high income-countries (HICs) but they produced 90.5% of primary studies and include 99.5% of participants. Only 14.2% of the dietary risk burden is in HICs but they produced 80.5% of primary studies and included 98.1% of participants.
Conclusions: this study demonstrates the unequal output of research heavily weighted towards HICs. More initiatives with informed contextual understanding are required to address this inequality and promote health research in low and middle-income countries.
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jogh-10-020401
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e-pub ahead of print date: 28 July 2020
Published date: December 2020
Keywords:
Alcohol Drinking/prevention & control, Alcohol-Related Disorders/prevention & control, Cost of Illness, Cross-Sectional Studies, Diet, Health Promotion, Health Risk Behaviors, Humans, Quality-Adjusted Life Years, Risk Factors, Substance-Related Disorders/prevention & control
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 485226
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/485226
ISSN: 2047-2986
PURE UUID: fbac5f6c-a019-409f-9d10-2a0946b369df
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Date deposited: 01 Dec 2023 17:42
Last modified: 18 Mar 2024 03:57
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Author:
Carlo Frassetto
Author:
Meisser Madera
Author:
Maximilian Siebert
Author:
Karen Megranahan
Author:
David Roberts
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