15 September, 2017
The latest Global Burden of Disease study (GBD) is published today in The Lancet. Some 10,900 such deaths were reported in 2016 - a 67% increase since 2006.
Deaths of children under 5 are a persistent health challenge. Ischemic heart disease was the leading cause of premature death for men in 113 countries and for women in 97 countries.
"In Australia we have made substantial health progress in the past 20 years", GBD study co-founder and University of Melbourne Laureate professor Alan Lopez said.
Generally, male life expectancy was lower than female from 1970 through 2016.
An Ethiopian man born in 2016 can expect to live 64.7 years, an increase in life expectancy of 7.9 years over the past decade. Despite this gap, Ethiopians are gaining years of healthy life.
Japan has the highest life expectancy at 83.9 years combined.
These "exemplar" nations may offer insight into which policies are most successful for accelerating health progress, the study authors noted. Deaths among children under the age of 5 decreased to fewer than 5 million in 2016 for the first time, down from 16.4 million in 1970. For every 1,000 live births, 43.4 Ethiopian children under the age of 5 die. Central African Republic has the lowest at just 50.2 years.
The global population afflicted with Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease stood at 2.6 million worldwide in 2016, a more than 40 percent surge from only a decade earlier.
Almost 55 million people died in 2016, while 129 million were born, leaving a net gain of 74 humans on the planet. Injuries, including those incurred by violence, accounted for 8.4% of all deaths.
The GBD is the largest and most comprehensive epidemiological effort to quantify health loss across places and over time.
Ischaemic heart disease caused 9.48 million deaths the world over. Since 2006, diabetes has risen from 17th to ninth leading cause of death in low-middle income countries.
The main cause of death in low income regions was lower respiratory infections. Diabetes caused 1.43 million deaths, a jump of 31% since 2006.
Heart disease and tobacco ranked with conflict and violence among the world's biggest killers in 2016, while poor diets and mental disorders caused people the greatest ill health, a large global study has found.
Overall, deaths from infectious diseases have fallen. However, the report also found an increase in deaths due to drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB).
The findings revealed that in 2016, poor diet was associated with almost one in five deaths worldwide.
Diets that were low in grains, fruit, nuts and seeds, fish oil and high in salt were the most common risk factors in diet.
The study also noted that high blood glucose, high blood pressure, high body mass index (BMI), and high total cholesterol, were all in the top 10 leading risk factors for death for men and women globally.
"Death is a powerful motivator, both for individuals and for countries, to address diseases that have been killing us at high rates".
Mental illness and substance use disorders continued to contribute substantially to poor health in 2016, affecting all countries regardless of socioeconomic status.
Those four nations are American Samoa, Philippines, Myanmar and Indonesia.
To accompany these recent findings, Healio.com/Psychiatry gathered the most recent research on depression and substance use disorders.
Disclosures: The studies were funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The team also added that a triad of troubles - obesity, conflict, and mental illness - is fast emerging as a stubborn barrier to active lifestyles.
