View clinical trials related to Noncommunicable Diseases.
Filter by:Study Hypotheses: 1. Anaemia, which is frequent before conception as well as during early pregnancy, affects metabolism and foetal growth trajectories, influencing the risk of NCDs in the offspring. 2. Anaemia from conception till end of 2nd trimester is most detrimental for foetal and newborns' health, compared to 3rd trimester anaemia. 3. Anaemia from conception till end of 2nd trimester affects foetal and newborns health through poor placental development reflected in increased villous branching and changed umbilical and uterine blood flow. 4. Anaemia in early pregnancy disrupts the vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF-A)/placental growth factor (PlGF) balance and the insulin-like growth factor (IGF) axis resulting in poor placental development, and poor health of newborns. This may be reflected in specific methylation patterns. 5. Anaemia's impact on the risk for NCDs in the offspring may be mediated via epigenetic mechanisms, including changes in DNA methylation patterns.
For national antiretroviral therapy (ART) programs, the most important health system goals in reducing morbidity and mortality among HIV-infection patients are to initiate treatment as early as eligibility criteria allow and to achieve the highest possible long-term retention of patients on ART. In South Africa, cohort data have consistently found high attrition among ART patients, with the combined cumulative outcomes of death and loss to follow up averaging 25-40% over the first five years after ART initiation. Like many other middle income countries, South Africa also faces very high rates of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and NCD risks. Despite this, there are virtually no studies looking at interactions between ART and NCDs, and none that have considered the effect of NCDs and NCD risk factors on achieving the second health system goal mentioned above: long term retention on ART.