Diseases of affluence hit developing nations

“Diseases of affluence,” previously thought to affect only developed nations, are now becoming the leading killers in the developing world, according to a five year study-the global burden of disease-sponsored by the World Health Organisation and the World Bank.

The report, the first of a series of four (Lancet 1997;349:1269-76), says that the differences in diseases between developed and developing countries is not as great as previously thought. Developing nations continue to have major problems with infections, tuberculosis, and malaria. …