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The latest Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study has revealed that while global mortality rates are falling, death rates are rising amongst adolescents and young adults in some regions.
Although non-communicable diseases like heart disease and diabetes were found to be responsible for two-thirds of the world’s deaths and disability, the researchers predict that almost half of all deaths and disability could be prevented by modifying a person’s risk factor, like blood sugar levels or body mass index.
“The rapid growth in the world’s aging population and evolving risk factors have ushered in a new era of global health challenges,” says Dr Christopher Murray, director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington in the US.
Murray’s team collaborated with the GBS Collaborator Network of 16,500 scientists to collect and analyse data for around 375 diseases and injuries across 204 countries from 1990 to 2023. The study focused on 88 different risk factors that can influence these diseases, making it the most comprehensive research to quantify health loss.
The results from the study have been published in Lancet in 3 capstones papers focusing on demographic analysis, causes of death and the burden of diseases, injuries and risk factors.
“The evidence presented in the Global Burden of Disease study is a wake-up call, urging government and health care leaders to respond swiftly and strategically to the disturbing trends that are reshaping public health needs,” says Murray.
Global mortality declines but youth deaths climb
The researchers found that the 2023 global age-standardised mortality rate has declined by 67% since 1950, with all countries and territories involved in the study marking declines. Global life expectancy for females is 76.3 years and 71.5 years for males, which is similar to pre-pandemic levels, but varies depending on geographic location, with life expectancy reaching as high as 83 years in some high income regions to as low as 62 years in sub-Saharan Africa.
“Decades of work to close the gap in low-income regions with persistent health inequities are in danger of unraveling due to the recent cuts to international aid,” says Emmanuela Gakidou, senior author and a professor at IHME.
“These countries rely on global health funding for life-saving primary care, medicine, and vaccines. Without it, the gap is sure to widen.”
From 2011 to 2023, the largest increase in deaths among adolescents and young adults was for those aged 20 to 39 in high-income North America, mainly due to suicide, drug overdose and high alcohol consumption.
In Eastern Europe, high-income North America and the Caribbean, there was also an increase in the number of deaths of children aged 5 to 19 during this same period.
Changing risk factors could reduce death and disability
The second paper traced a shift in fatalities away from infections and towards non-communicable diseases. In 2023, ischemic heart disease and stroke were the 2 leading causes of death, with COVID-19 falling to 20th place after being the leading cause in 2021.
Non-communicable diseases accounted for almost two-thirds of the world’s total death and disability, according to the third study, with almost half of these cases attributed to 88 modifiable risk factors.
The 10 with the highest proportion of health loss were: high blood pressure, particulate pollution, smoking, high blood sugar, low birthweight, high BMI, high cholesterol, kidney dysfunction, child growth failure and lead exposure.
The authors also found that climate-sensitive risks, such as heat and air pollution, are continuing to have an increasingly significant impact on global health.
Mental health disorders continue to rise across the globe, with anxiety increasing death and disability by 63% and depression increasing the same figure by 26%.
Collaborators of the study say these results highlight the need for governments to implement further health policies to encourage communities to cut down risk factors.
“Elevating health literacy is crucial, with a focus on recognising symptoms and understanding individual risk factors,” says Professor Aziz Rahman from Federation University, Australia, who was a senior collaborator for the study.
“Beyond ongoing population-level initiatives aimed at promoting healthy behaviours to combat overweight and obesity, it is crucial to address policy issues such as implementing taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages and mitigating industry interference in marketing unhealthy foods to children.”