[The epidemiological transition of chronic and degenerative diseases in Mexico]

Mexico during the last decades has achieve an important development, therefore the frequency of most of the transmissible diseases dropped and an increase in frequency has been noticed in regard the chronic non-transmissible diseases of multifactorial etiology. Diagnosis and management in those cases require a great effort in fields such as internal medicine and surgery, as well as a substantial portion of resources assigned to biomedical research. Chronic and degenerative diseases have a sound impact on health economy, need medical decisions with population impact and justify an epidemiological approach in the national health service. Life expectancy reached 69 years by 1990, there is a proportional increase in adults and older person in our population, increasing urbanization and a epidemiological transition which results in a different picture of mortality in Mexico, now heart diseases, malignant neoplasia and diabetes mellitus are 3 of the 5 leading causes of death. Morbidity is not as easy to define because lack of consistent data, however, there is no doubt in regard the important role played by chronic and degenerative diseases in it. General education and health promotion as well as a changing behaviour at issues such as nutrition, physical exercise and avoiding unhealthy habits should be encouraged because its obvious value as preventive measures. After long years of heavy work we are facing a changing mexico in terms of demography and epidemiology, which requires the concern of all health professionals in order to achieve a different epidemiological picture through health education, promotion and behaviour in the whole population, it is necessary not only to live longer, we must have a superior quality of life.