According to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) 2019 Global Health Estimates, Ischaemic Heart Disease remained the Top Cause of death at the Global level over the period 2000-19, it is responsible for 16% of World’s total deaths. The study has also stated that Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD) constitute 7 of the World’s Top 10 causes of death.
i.In 2019, the 7 non-communicable diseases accounted for 44% of all deaths or 80% of the deaths caused by top 10 diseases. However, all noncommunicable diseases together accounted for 74% of deaths globally in 2019.
ii.In the year 2019, the top 10 causes of death accounted for 55% (55.5 Million deaths) of deaths worldwide.
iii.The estimates in the 2020 report are based on trends from 160 diseases and injuries annually from 2000-19.
| Disease | Type of Disease |
|---|---|
| Ischaemic Heart Disease | Non-Communicable Disease |
| Stroke | Non-Communicable Disease |
| Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease | Non-Communicable Disease |
| Lower Respiratory Infections | Communicable Disease |
| Neonatal Conditions | Communicable Disease |
| Trachea, Bronchus, Lung Cancers | Non-Communicable Disease |
| Alzheimer’s & Dementia | Non-Communicable Disease |
| Diarrhoeal diseases | Communicable Disease |
| Diabetes Mellitus | Non-Communicable Disease |
| Kidney Diseases | Non-Communicable Disease |
Categories:
i.Based on Total Number of lives lost the global causes are grouped into 3 broad topics – cardiovascular (Ischaemic heart disease, stroke), respiratory (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lower respiratory infections) and neonatal conditions (birth asphyxia and birth trauma, neonatal sepsis and infections, & preterm birth complications).
ii.Based on Causes of death they can be grouped into – communicable (infectious and parasitic diseases and maternal, perinatal and nutritional conditions), noncommunicable (chronic) and injuries.
Key Points:
i.Lower Respiratory infections are the world’s deadliest communicable disease.
ii.Women are most affected by Alzheimer and other forms of dementia, 65% of deaths from Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia are women.
iii.Diabetes is the 9th Top Cause of Deaths over the period 2000-19 (an increase of 70% from 2000). It accounted for the largest deaths among male.
iv.Deaths due to HIV/AIDS (Human Immunodeficiency Viruses/Acquired ImmunoDeficiency Syndrome) have fallen by 51%, as a result it has moved to 19th Leading cause of death in 2019 from 8th in 2000.
v.Kidney diseases have increased globally; as a result, it has emerged as the 10th Leading Cause of death.
Road Traffic Injuries:
The estimates also noted that 75% of deaths from road traffic injuries are male.
Drug use Disorders:
i.Drug use disorders have emerged as a major reason for deaths in the Americas (North America & South America).
ii.There has been a 3-fold increase in deaths in the Americas due to drug use over the period 2000-19.
Global Average of Living age:
Globally Life Expectancy has increased, The Global Life Expectancy in 2019 is 73 compared to 67 in 2000. However according to the estimates only 5 of those additional years have been lived in good health.
Leading Causes of Deaths based on Income:
The classification based on Income is based on Classification of the World Bank
Low-Income Country:
i.People living in low-income countries are more likely to die of a communicable disease than noncommunicable disease.
Lower-Middle-Income countries:
i.Diabetes is one of the rapidly increasing causes of death in this income group.
ii.The top 10 causes in these countries are – 5 NCD, 4 Communicable Disease and 1 Injury.
Upper-Middle-Income countries:
i.In these countries, there is only 1 communicable disease (lower respiratory infections) in Top 10 causes of death.
ii.Deaths from Ischaemic heart diseases have increased by 1.2 Million, which is the highest rise in any income group (based on deaths from ischaemic heart disease).
High-Income Countries:
i.This is the only income group which has registered downfall in deaths due to Ischaemic heart disease and stroke.
ii.Deaths due to these 2 causes have decreased from 21% to 16%.
iii.However, deaths due to Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias have increased. They were responsible for deaths of 8, 14, 000 people in 2019 in High Income countries.
Recent Related News:
i.According to the Global Tuberculosis Report 2020 released by WHO, there has been a 25 to 30 % drop in Tuberculosis (TB) case notification across three high-burden countries – India, Indonesia and Philippines between January-June 2020.
ii.WHO in partnership with the International Council of Nurses (ICN) and Nursing Now released the first “The State of the World’s Nursing 2020” report amid COVID19 pandemic.
About WHO
Director General – Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (Ethiopia)
Headquarters – Geneva, Switzerland
