Fabiani, Ester

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Prikaz knjige: Ester Fabiani: Prikaz knjige Roye Kelishadi (Ur.): Primordial prevention of non-communicable disease172Publisher: Springer; Date of publication: 2019; Number of pages: 67; DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-10616-4The theme of this book, entitled “Primordial Prevention of Non-Communicable Disease”, – is a well-chosen ‘hot’ research topic related to reha-bilitation medicine. In fact, non-communicable dis-eases are the main cause of mortality in developed and developing countries across the world.  The need for promoting such important discourse was essentially recognised by Springer. Considering this topic from the editor’s point of view, Kelishadi acknowledged that besides causing enormous health-care costs, non-communicable diseases have a signifi-cant effect on the entire human life cycle by increasing morbidity and decreasing the quality of human life.  The fundamental concept highlighted in this book is the recognition that lifestyle changes in early childhood can provide an opportunity to effectively prevent non-communicable diseases. The book not only addresses the role played by healthcare prevention practitioners and politi-cal organisations, but also by public health per-sonnel whose point of view is shaped by simple evidence-based facts, as well as an individual’s moral obligation to take care of his/her own health. However, as the editor stated in the Preface, the emphasis should be on the importance of system-atised early paediatric surveillance.  Dr. Roya Kelishadi is an Iranian Professor of Paediatrics at the child Growth and Development Research Centre affiliated to the Isfahan University of Medical Science, Iran. She is an experienced, highly successful international researcher (h-index 73) and an expert on non-communicable diseases. For the purpose of this book, she brought a team of nine experts together, including Peter Schwandt and Gerda-Maria Haas, who collectively have a strong comprehension of scientific language and years of experience in different research fields. A brief description of the professional profiles of these experts have been included for the benefit of readers from different fields.  Selected experts have provided an interdisci-plinary insight into the specific fields of medicine, biology, chemistry, and physics by explaining com-plex and highly specific microstructures and mech-anisms (such as genes or chemical molecules asso-ciated with environmental pollution) in a precise, yet simple manner. Aspiring to achieve adequate comprehension amongst the readers, the sections of the book are organised based on the clara et distinc-ta perception. However, from the point of view of terminology, the use of abbreviations is somewhat confusing because many abbreviated terms are men-tioned several pages after they were first defined. This book is divided into seven chapters that elucidate the key points related to the prevention of BOOK REVIEW  EDITOR: ROYA KELISHADI PRIMORDIAL PREVENTION OF  NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASEESTER FABIANILjubljana University Medical Centre UKC, Clinic of Infectious Diseases,  Zaloška street 7, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenija, contact: 2ester.fabiani@gmail.com Received: 30.09.2021. Accepted: 01.10.2021.Hrvatska revija za rehabilitacijska istraživanja 2021, Vol 57, br. 2, str. 172-173173non-communicable diseases, including the life cycle approach with an emphasis on the sensitive period, epigenetics, environment, nutrition and obesity, as well as reports on successful long-term interventions administered to patients with cardiovascular and kidney disease.). In only 67 pages, the experts used seven representative articles published over the last three decades to present diseases such as cardiovas-cular and kidney disease, type II diabetes mellitus, schizophrenia, cancers, and obesity along with their common agents and risk factors. This set of articles advances the concise insight on non-communicable diseases with methodological suggestions for suc-cessful preventive therapies. Due to the statistical and argumentative power of evidence-based results, the number of presented cases could be supplement-ed by presenting at least one research study for each group of non-communicable diseases. From a technical point of view, the visibility of some of the graphs and tables included is compro-mised due to their resolution (Fig 5.2 and 5.3 on pages 49 and 50), presumably due to the use of the ‘print screen’/screenshot technic. The selected format of the book also fails to use graphs and tables that could present the results in a more illustrative and comparable way.  In fact, providing a framework to understand the specific theme of this book, as well as a short summary or conclusion, might be useful for the readers, even if these sections are not mandatory. Finally, each chapter contains well-chosen ref-erences and summarises around 50 articles that reflect the individual expert’s needs and knowledge about prior scientific achievements relevant to the topic being addressed in that chapter. Although non-communicable diseases is widely studied topic in the field of epidemics, this book is a convenient and useful tool. It is comparable to important longitudinal cohort studies such as the Bogalusa Heart study, the Framingham Heart study, the Canadian coordination and activity tracking in children (CATCH) study,  as well as special editions by the World Health Organisation, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Chronic Disease Industry 2021, and the Global Ministerial Conferences on Healthy Lifestyles and Non-communicable Disease Control.  This book differs from similar essays because it is a short, very well-structured review of a large and complex field, and it provides relevant informa-tion in an easily accessible manner. Furthermore, it offers a novel and concise understanding of the state of the art and trends in non-communicable diseases. There is no doubt that this book, “Primordial Prevention of Non-Communicable Disease”, is a highly recommended manual for researchers, health care providers, and students. It most defi-nitely belongs on the bookshelves of professionals in various fields of medicine and health promotion. 

Book review: Roya Kelishadi (Ed.): Primordial prevention of non-communicable disease

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