As fewer children die, more people grow up to become adults, or even ol, the global burden of disease is changing from infections to Non-communicable diseases. Which diseases are they, and what do they have in common? Is it a good or abad thing that they are increasing worldwide?
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Downloadable transcripts for the videos from Karolinska Institutet, from the course "An Introduction to Global Health".The course is originally published at EdX. 

Guest lecture with Professor David S. Jones, Harvard, held at IGS, University of Bergen, January 25, 2019. Organized with support from the research group Health-, welfare and history of science, AHKR. Abstract: Coronary artery disease became the leading cause of death worldwide in the twentieth century. In the 1950s, however, CAD mortality began to fall, first in California, and then throughout the United States and in other high income countries from New Zealand to Norway. Mortality rates fell 50 percent in many countries, one of the great accomplishments of modern public health and medicine. In the 1990s, however, disease surveillance programs began to detect signs that the decline of CAD had slowed or plateaued. In some populations the decline has reversed. Life expectancy in the United States has now decreased for the first time in over a century. Health officials similarly fear an impending epidemic of dementia, despite evidence that the incidence of that disease has recently begun to decline. How should these public health fears be assessed? How should health policy priorities be set? I will trace the history of disease decline and resurgence to identify patterns in how public health officials create data and craft them into powerful narratives of progress or pessimism. This perspective can help us to interpret the narratives that circulate today. About the lecturer: Trained in psychiatry and history of science, David Jones is the Ackerman Professor of the Culture of Medicine at Harvard University. His research has focused on the causes and meanings of health inequalities (Rationalizing Epidemics: Meanings and Uses of American Indian Mortality since 1600) and the history of decision making in cardiac therapeutics (Broken Hearts: The Tangled History of Cardiac Care, 2013). He is currently at work on three other histories, of the evolution of coronary artery surgery, of heart disease and cardiac therapeutics in India, and of the threat of air pollution to health. His teaching at Harvard College and Harvard Medical School explores the history of medicine, medical ethics, and social medicine. Filming and editing by Magnus Vollset (who apologizes for the poor light)

By 2030, reduce by one third premature mortality from non-communicable diseases through prevention and treatment and promote mental health and well-being
Professor Ingunn Maria S. Engebretsen, CIH, University of Bergen

Engebretsen explains that the Goal is ambitious, embracing everything that is “non-communicable”, it means everything that is not infectious. Her own research interests include diseases relating to nutrition and mental health. She noted that malnutrition, in particular, is a common factor for many poor health conditions.

Engebretsen highlighted a number of established theories (Forsdahl, Barker, Brenner) and newer theories linking genetics, epigenetics, environment and health, to argue that a lifestyle approach is needed to best tackle non-communicable diseases. She also mentioned how many of these diseases have significant socio-economic effects on society and many impact the health of future generations.

Finally, Engebretsen presented information about the importance of mental health, highlighting that this is a significant factor in disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) for young people (aged 15-24).