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Ethnic Diversities, Hypertension and Global Cardiovascular Risk pp 17–26Cite as

Migration, Communicable, and Noncommunicable Diseases: Are We Witnessing a Paradigm Shift?

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Part of the book series: Updates in Hypertension and Cardiovascular Protection ((UHCP))

Abstract

International migration is a characterizing phenomenon of the new century, driven by economic, demographic, climatic, and political events. Migration may occur from South to North or from South to South, and migrants represent a very heterogeneous category in terms of provenance, destination, and health status. The healthy-migrant effect mainly applies to economic migrants and tends to vanish with time. Although migration has been linked since ancient times with the risk of infectious diseases, most often linked to the marginalized status of ethnic minorities, the recent health transition rapidly occurring in developing countries and the adaptation of the migrant population to the Western lifestyle expose migrants to an increasing risk to develop an increasing burden of noncommunicable diseases (diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, arterial hypertension, metabolic disorders, specific neoplasms). Apart from lifestyle, this array of diseases may be linked to genetic and cultural factors that require a standardized methodological research approach to generate scientifically sound evidence. As for communicable diseases, favoring early access to prevention and care of noncommunicable conditions is the best strategy to prevent long-term life-threatening and costly sequelae.

The authors are responsible for the choice and presentation of views contained in this article and for opinions expressed therein, which are not necessarily those of UNESCO and do not commit the Organization.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, Infectious and Tropical Diseases, University of Brescia and ASST Spedali Civili, Brescia, Italy

    Francesco Castelli & Issa El Hamad

  2. Department of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, University of Brescia and ASST Spedali Civili, Brescia, Italy

    Maria Lorenza Muiesan

Authors
  1. Francesco Castelli
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  2. Maria Lorenza Muiesan
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  3. Issa El Hamad
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Francesco Castelli .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Florence, Firenze, Italy

    Pietro Amedeo Modesti

  2. University of Warwick, Warwick Medical School, and University, Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire, NHS Trust, Coventry, UK

    Francesco P. Cappuccio

  3. Istituto Auxologico Italiano, IRCCS, Department of Cardiovascular, Neural and Metabolic Sciences, San Luca Hospital, Milan, Italy

    Gianfranco Parati

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Castelli, F., Muiesan, M.L., El Hamad, I. (2018). Migration, Communicable, and Noncommunicable Diseases: Are We Witnessing a Paradigm Shift?. In: Modesti, P., Cappuccio, F., Parati, G. (eds) Ethnic Diversities, Hypertension and Global Cardiovascular Risk. Updates in Hypertension and Cardiovascular Protection. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-93148-7_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-93148-7_2

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