We live longer and the global mortality is decreasing overall. This is evident from the study Global burden of disease published in the scientific journal Lancet. The comprehensive report is presented simultaneously at the World Health Summit conference in Berlin.
The study is based on a collaboration between 16,500 researchers who have analyzed data on life expectancy, causes of death, and disease prevalence in 204 countries.
Live 20 years longer
The expected global life expectancy was 20 years longer in 2023 than in 1950. The global expected life expectancy, which decreased during the pandemic, has returned to pre-pandemic levels and is 76.3 years for women and 71.5 years for men. However, the differences are significant. In parts of sub-Saharan Africa, it is as low as 63 years, and in Sweden, it is around 20 years longer.
On the other hand, worrying patterns are seen among young adults, particularly when it comes to increased death rates among teenagers and young adults, especially in North and Latin America. In the age group 20 to 38 years, causes of death such as suicide, drug overdoses, and alcohol have increased the most.
Infant mortality decreased significantly during the study period. The reasons are reduced malnutrition, vaccines, and improved health and medical care.
Irene Akua Agyepong from the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons, who worked on the report, says that we must continue to use functioning tools. She looks with concern at the increasing distrust of vaccines in parts of the world.
When I worked as a doctor in the late 1980s, hospitals and clinics were full of children who died from measles, it was incredibly many who lost their children in Ghana. Today, people have not seen those sights.
Heart disease and obesity
People now live more years with non-communicable diseases, which places increased demands on our health and medical care systems, says Alacros Cieza from the unit for non-communicable diseases at WHO, when the report is presented.
In total, non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and cancer account for nearly two-thirds of all deaths in the world. Low-income countries face double challenges when this type of disease increases at the same time as they struggle with, among other things, infectious diseases, the researchers write.
The report also highlights that environmental and climate-related factors to a greater extent contribute to increased mortality and ill health. Here, air pollution and heatwaves are mentioned, which lead to both direct ill health and death and indirect through, among other things, food shortages.
A network of 16,500 researchers has compiled data from 204 countries and regions regarding mortality and disease.
They have collected data on 375 diseases and injuries, 88 risk factors, sex, and age for 204 countries and regions. In total, they have used over 310,000 sources.
The study shows that the expected life expectancy has increased globally by over 20 years between 1950 and 2023.
Despite the progress, the report shows a worrying trend among young adults, especially in North and Latin America, where death rates have increased due to suicide and abuse of alcohol and drugs. Young adults and teenagers in sub-Saharan Africa die to a greater extent from infectious diseases and unintentional injuries.
Among children under five, the main cause of death in 2023 was malnutrition, uncertain access to clean water, and poor hygiene. For children between five and 14, iron deficiency was the main cause of death, followed by water- and hygiene-related causes.
Source: Global burden of disease study
