The NIHR Global Health Research Centre for Non-Communicable Diseases and Environmental Change aims to be a recognised centre of excellence on non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and global environmental change in low and middle-income countries (LMICs), offering world-leading research, training and policy advice for health equity. LMICs face dual, intertwined challenges of a rapidly growing burden of NCDs and the existential threat of global environmental change. Global environment change is the biggest threat to human health in the 21st century. Our Centre will focus on Bangladesh, India, and Indonesia, LMICs highly impacted by the dual challenges of NCDs and environmental change. We will address crucial knowledge gaps through three integrated research themes:
- Populations in Bangladesh, Indonesia and India are amongst the most vulnerable to this threat.
- Salinity in drinking water across coastal belts has been associated with increased blood pressure and urinary protein excretion, progressive kidney disease, and (pre)eclampsia and gestational hypertension in pregnant women.
- Unregulated burning of plastic waste releases harmful chemicals such as Dioxin, which dangerously pollute the environment and lead to negative health outcomes such as chronic lung disease, heart diseases and cancers.
- An increasing intake of carbohydrates, rich diet and lack of dietary diversity are risk factors for multiple cardiometabolic diseases.
