Since November 1998, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has been cooperating with the Jordan Ministry of Health (MoH) to provide technical assistance and develop surveillance systems for health risk areas in Jordan. The systems track and analyze infectious diseases, mortality rates and risk factors for chronic non-communicable diseases.

The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) is a private research center focused on calculating statistical population growth and health data. As a component of the University of Washington research institute, the IHME provides “comparable measurement of the world’s most important health problems and evaluates the strategies used to address them.” Jordan’s population (7.8 million) continues to rise, as well as chronic non-communicable diseases.

In 2015, the IHME reported 20,114 total deaths in Jordan, including all sexes and all ages. According to the center’s 2015 non-communicable disease statistics, the top diseases in Jordan are:

• Ischemic heart disease
• Cerebrovascular disease
• Diabetes
• Congenital defects
• Chronic kidney disease

The top diseases in Jordan are primarily caused by high body-mass index, dietary risks, high fasting plasma glucose, tobacco smoke and elevated systolic blood pressure. Jordan’s top disease, Ischemic heart disease, is the cause of 15.98 percent of total deaths in the country and has remained in the top spot since 2005. The chronic disease occurs when the coronary arteries narrow, restricting blood and oxygen flow into the heart. Certain risk factors initiate the heart disease, damaging the inner layers of the coronary arteries. The primary culprit is smoking.

In 2013, the Tobacco Atlas reported that 43.3 percent of men and 8.5 percent women smoke tobacco in Jordan, both of which are higher than the average percent in middle-income countries. Smoking increases the likelihood of blood clots, reduces exercise tolerance, and increases blood pressure.

The CDC’s Field Epidemiology Training Program (FETP) has developed a system to successfully survey and analyze non-communicable diseases. Through the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), Jordan became the first Middle Eastern country to implement the program, which stemmed three national health surveys (2002, 2004, 2007). The program’s objectives are to progress the CDC’s global public health mission to respond to the high burden of noncommunicable diseases. By implementing the program, Jordan is one step closer to combating these hazardous diseases.

– Madison O’Connell

Photo: Flickr