Interactions between industrial revolutions and epidemiological transitions and the sixth epidemiologic transition

Abstract

The epidemiological transition originally describes the shift from mortality caused by acute infectious diseases to deaths from chronic, non-infectious, degenerative diseases. The human population is currently undergoing epidemiological transitions following each industrial revolution since 1750s. There may because-and-effect relationships between industrial revolutions and epidemiological transitions, possibly in both directions.Articles on industrial revolutions and epidemiologic transitions were reviewed and analyzed regardless of publication date. The beginning and end dates of industrial revolutions and their societal impacts were compared to the beginning and end dates of epidemiological transitions and their implications.This manuscript poses the question of whether there are unidirectional or mutual interactions between industrial revolutions and the ensuing epidemiological transitions, generating hypotheses based on general comparisons.

Keywords

• Industrial revolutions
• Epidemiological transitions
• Cause-effect relationships