Amina Aitsi-Selmi

University College London | UCL · Department of Epidemiology and Public Health

Mass gatherings of people at religious pilgrimages and sporting events are linked to numerous health hazards, including the transmission of infectious diseases, physical injuries, and an impact on local and global health systems and services. As with other forms of disaster, mass gathering-related disasters are the product of the management of diff...

The recently adopted United Nations’ Sendai Framework on Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030 has a much greater emphasis on science compared with other global policy frameworks. It builds on the idea that science and evidence are essential for effective policy-making to improve lives, livelihoods and health. It was the first UN landmark agreement of...

On the 30th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster, Amina Aitsi-Selmi and Virginia Murray reflect on the importance of disaster preparedness.

Mass gatherings of people at religious pilgrimages and sporting events are linked to numerous health hazards including the transmission of infectious diseases, physical injuries and an impact on local and global health systems and services. As with other forms of disasters, mass gathering-related disasters are the product of the management of diffe...

The first international conference for the post-2015 United Nations landmark agreements (Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030, Sustainable Development Goals, and Paris Agreement on Climate Change) was held in January 2016 to discuss the role of science and technology in implementing the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction...

The issues raised by noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) during and after disasters are a challenge to equity within local communities, as well as between countries. Individuals with NCDs are particularly vulnerable in disasters and their aftermath given health systems are disrupted. Although welcome progress has been made in taking NCDs and equity int...

The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) 2015-2030 is the first of three United Nations (UN) landmark agreements this year (the other two being the Sustainable Development Goals due in September 2015 and the climate change agreements due in December 2015). It represents a step in the direction of global policy coherence with explicit...

Background Education and wealth may have different associations with female obesity but this has not been investigated in detail outside high-income countries. This study examines the separate and inter-related associations of education and household wealth in relation to obesity in women in a representative sample of low- and middle-income countr...

Enhance the scientific and technical work on disaster risk reduction and its mobilization through the coordination of existing networks and scientific research institutions at all levels and all regions with the support of the UNISDR Scientific and Technical Advisory Group in order to: strengthen the evidence-base in support of the implementation o...

The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030 (SFDRR) is the first global policy framework of the United Nations’ post-2015 agenda. It represents a step in the direction of global policy coherence with explicit reference to health, development, and climate change. To develop SFDRR, the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction...

Executive Summary The year 2015 presents an unparalleled opportunity to unify UN policy efforts through the convergence of three landmark UN frameworks: the post-2015 Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (March 2015), the Sustainable Development Goals (September 2015) and the Climate Change Agreements (December2015). There is an urgent need to ali...

This article explores the role of public health systems before, during, and after disasters, particularly within the scope of the United Nations Post-2015 Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. It also examines the role of scientific and technological developments in assisting with improving the resilience of public health professionals and the com...

We welcome the important paper by Grønseth et al. [1], which used data from the Burden of Obstructive Lung Disease (BOLD) project to highlight the prevalence of breathlessness across the world. As well as being significant because it is a source of suffering that should be ameliorated, we believe that attention to breathlessness, particularly in mi...

Background The use of self-reported measures of chronic disease may substantially underestimate prevalence in low-income and middle-income country settings, especially in groups with lower socioeconomic status (SES). We sought to determine whether socioeconomic inequalities in the prevalence of non-communicable chronic diseases (NCDs) differ if est...

Middle-income countries in the intermediate stages of the nutrition transition are facing a complex picture of nutrition-related diseases with child stunting and maternal obesity coexisting within single households (SCOB). A debate exists as to whether SCOB is a true phenomenon or a statistical artefact. In this study, we examine time trends and de...

Education and wealth may have different associations with female obesity but this has not been investigated in detail outside high-income countries. This study examines the separate and inter-related associations of education and household wealth in relation to obesity in women in a representative sample of low- and middle-income countries (LMICs)....

The prevalence rates of obesity and smoking are increasing globally and behave like epidemics. There is evidence that the social distribution of risk factors changes as countries develop, with risk spreading down the social gradient over time. However, how or why this occurs is not clear, and there is a scarcity of consensus between academic discip...

Female levels of obesity in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are rising. Obesity prevalence has been the greatest in high socio-economic status (SES) groups, but recent evidence suggests a changing pattern with the prevalence of obesity rising rapidly among lower SES groups and exceeding the former - a reversal of the social gradient of obe...

The prevalence of obesity is increasing rapidly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) as their populations become exposed to obesogenic environments. The transition from an agrarian to an industrial and service-based economy results in important lifestyle changes. Yet different socioeconomic groups may experience and respond to these changes...

The distribution of obesity in developed countries follows a social gradient. In developing countries, a similar pattern is emerging as national per capita income rises. The epidemiological evidence runs counter to the popular opinion that being overweight and obesity are matters solely of individual lifestyle choices or genetics. Both are importan...

Background Few studies explore the relationship between individual socioeconomic indicators and excess adiposity in depth in economic transition settings. Aim To examine the independent and joint effects of education and occupation in relation to excess adiposity in China. Methods A household-based, community survey of four provinces collected data...

Obesity is a growing problem in lower income countries particularly among women. There are few studies exploring individual socioeconomic status indicators in depth. This study examines the interaction of education and wealth in relation to obesity, hypothesising that education protects against the obesogenic effect of wealth. Four datasets of wome...

Background: Longitudinal studies drawn from high-income countries demonstrate long-term associations of early childhood socioeconomic deprivation with increased adiposity in adulthood. However, there are very few data from resource-poor countries where there are reasons to anticipate different gradients. Accordingly, we sought to characterise the n...

ABSTRACT: Diet, in addition to tobacco, alcohol and physical exercise, is a major factor contributing to chronic diseases in Europe. There is a pressing need for multidisciplinary research to promote healthier food choices and better diets. Food and Health Research in Europe (FAHRE) is a collaborative project commissioned by the European Union. Amo...

Introduction Middle Eastern and North African countries have some of the highest obesity prevalence levels in the world (40% among women in Egypt in 2008). The prevalence of obesity in low-and-middle income countries has been rising in the last 2?decades and its socioeconomic distribution appears to be changing to the disadvantage of those with low...

Abstract Background: Diet, in addition to tobacco, alcohol and physical exercise, is a major factor contributing to chronic diseases in Europe. There is a pressing need for multidisciplinary research to promote healthier food choices and better diets. Food and Health Research in Europe (FAHRE) is a collaborative project commissioned by the European...

Background The global obesity epidemic is spreading rapidly with a social distribution that varies according to the level of economic development: as countries develop, the burden of obesity appears to shift from the rich to the poor. Studying these changes as they occur can help shed further light on the social processes that fuel the obesity epid...

OBJECTIVES: To develop a new methodology to systematically compare evidence across diverse risk markers for coronary heart disease and to compare this evidence with guideline recommendations. DESIGN: "Horizontal" systematic review incorporating different sources of evidence. DATA SOURCES: Electronic search of Medline and hand search of guidelines....

To develop a new methodology to systematically compare evidence across diverse risk markers for coronary heart disease and to compare this evidence with guideline recommendations. "Horizontal" systematic review incorporating different sources of evidence. Electronic search of Medline and hand search of guidelines. Study selection Two reviewers inde...

To investigate the prevalence of under-reported use of tobacco among Bangladeshi women and the characteristics of this group. Cross-sectional surveys. Private households in England. 996 Bangladeshi women aged 16 years and above, 302 with a valid saliva sample and 694 without, in the 1999 and 2004 Health Surveys for England. Prevalence of under-...

Public health has been defined as 'the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organised efforts and informed choices of society, organisations, public and private, communities and individuals.' (Wanless, 2003).

This study investigates the prevalence of under-reported use of tobacco among Bangladeshi women and the characteristics of this group. The 1999 and 2004 Health Survey for England included 996 Bangladeshi women aged 16 years and above, 302 with a valid saliva sample and 694 without. The main outcome measure was the prevalence of under-reported tobac...

Despite important recent initiatives to improve the health of the most disadvantaged in the world (the Millennium Development Goals, debt cancellation campaigns), poverty and preventable diseases still plague many parts of the globe. Sub-Saharan Africa remains one of the most severely affected. It is the only region in the world where life expectan...

Many developing countries are undergoing rapid socio-economic changes that impact on health and its social distribution. These changes can occur so rapidly that there is a resulting co-existence of diseases of affluence and diseases of poverty. Priority setting for nutritional programs has focused on the alleviation of undernutrition in low income...