The 10 diseases that cause more deaths in the world

If you combine a high frequency and a high lethality you get some of the diseases that cause the most deaths in the world.

Every year some 57 million people die in the world. And, despite the fact that they are the ones that make the most headlines, car accidents, trauma, murders, and all these circumstances represent “only” 5 million of all these deaths. With the emergence of the coronavirus pandemic, the figures may increase conjecturally by 7 million deaths in 2020.

The real killers are diseases. Infectious diseases (influenza, pneumonia, AIDS, tuberculosis ...) are responsible for 16 million deaths a year. It is an extremely high number that, however, dwarfs the other diseases that are not transmitted between people.

Noncommunicable diseases are the leading explanation for death within the world. Cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes, respiratory disorders, etc., are responsible for some 36 million deaths each year. Virtually all deaths are due to these pathologies, which are usually linked to aging and poor lifestyle habits.

In today's article, we will look at the 10 diseases responsible for the greatest number of deaths, detailing both the deaths they cause and the nature of these disorders.

What do we die of?

To answer this question, it must first be borne in mind that the causes of death vary greatly between countries. For example, diarrheal diseases are the main cause of death in poor countries, while in most developed countries, practically no one dies from them.

In any case, the list that we propose below does not discriminate between countries. The data on deaths are simply collected and reflected in a ranking.

As we have said, despite the fact that there are obvious exceptions, people do not usually die from car accidents or other injuries. People generally die because we get sick.

And we get sick either because a pathogen infects us or because our vital organs stop working properly. In the case of infectious diseases, at least in developed countries, the impact of pathogens is less and less. If we look at the beginning of the 20th century, practically all deaths were due to germs. Today, thanks to the development of medicine and the ways of preventing these diseases, they do not cause as many deaths.

Therefore, most deaths occur because our organs stop working. And this can happen both simply by aging, with the famous “dying of old age”, by mere genetic chance or because we have adopted unhealthy lifestyle habits.

For any of these three reasons, it is possible that something within us begins to fail. Heart diseases, lung conditions, kidney failure, cancer ... All these diseases are life-threatening and their appearance is a combination of genetic and lifestyle factors.

What are the diseases that kill the most?

Below we present the diseases that cause the most deaths each year in the world, detailing the number of deaths for which they are responsible. The data corresponds to the year 2017 and was presented by the World Health Organization (WHO).

1. Ischemic heart disease: 8’7 million

Ischemic heart disease is a disease that kills the most worldwide. It consists of an accumulation of fat and inflammation - and consequent narrowing - of the coronary arteries, those responsible for supplying blood to the heart. This causes heart failure that can be fatal if not corrected.

It causes so many deaths because, in addition to being very lethal, it is very common in the population since its causes are diverse: smoking, poor diet, lack of physical activity, hyperglycemia, overweight, hypertension ... It usually leads to a heart attack or other cardiovascular problems which tend to be fatal to the person.

Despite the fact that the damage to the heart is irreversible, the treatment consists of taking anti-inflammatory drugs, monitoring diet, playing sports, quitting smoking (if it were done), controlling weight, etc. This reduces the chances of the disease progressing and causing death.

2. Heart attack: 6.2 million

A heart attack is a clinical emergency situation in which, due to a blockage of the coronary arteries, blood and oxygen stop reaching the heart, causing its cells to die. It is due to the formation of a thrombus in these arteries due to a progressive accumulation of cholesterol or disorders in blood clotting.

The first symptom that you are having a heart attack is a pain in the chest, which extends to the jaw and/or the left arm. Treatment should be administered immediately, so an ambulance should be called, and consists of an external supply of oxygen and injection of medications through a vein, in addition to defibrillator therapy if the medical team deems it necessary.

Even so, most of the time the treatment does not arrive on time, so heart attacks continue to be one of the main causes of death in the world. Monitoring food and leading a healthy lifestyle are the best ways to prevent its occurrence.

3. Respiratory tract infections: 3.1 million

The airways are constantly exposed to attack by pathogens, making them one of the most common pathologies in the world. Every year we suffer from a cold or the flu. In addition, some of these infectious diseases can be very serious, which is why, given their high incidence and their health consequences, they represent one of the main causes of death in the world.

Infections of the respiratory system and especially of the lungs are serious pathologies that, although they can be treated if the necessary techniques are available, in poor countries cause millions of deaths every year.

Pneumonia, for example, consists of a bacterial infection of the pulmonary air sacs and requires prompt treatment with antibiotics. Otherwise, it can be fatal.

4. Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD): 3.1 million

COPD is an inflammation of the lungs, a situation that obstructs the flow of air and makes it increasingly difficult to breathe, causing the death of the person due to respiratory failure. It is basically caused by smoking.

Symptoms, which worsen over time, include shortness of breath, wheezing, excess mucus, recurrent respiratory infections, weakness and fatigue, weight loss ...

Despite the fact that there is no cure, we have treatments that alleviate symptoms and, as far as possible, slow down the progress of the disease.

5. Lung cancer: 1.7 million

Lung cancer is the most common type of cancer and the one that causes more deaths by far, since of the 2 million cases that are diagnosed each year, 1.7 million of them result in the death of the person. Smoking is the leading cause, for both active and passive smokers.

However, it can also develop in people who have never come into contact with tobacco; in which case the causes are not too clear.

The symptoms are usually cough (sometimes bloody), shortness of breath, hoarseness, chest pain, weight loss ... It is very difficult to treat and usually inevitably ends up killing the person.

6. Diabetes: 1.6 million

Diabetes is a very common endocrine disease suffered by more than 400 million people worldwide and, without treatment, is fatal. It is a disorder in which the functionality of insulin, a hormone that prevents excess sugar in the blood, is affected, causing hyperglycemia.

It can be caused both by genetics and by having a poor diet. In any case, diabetes causes weight loss, recurrent infections, weakness, blurred vision ... And it can lead to serious cardiovascular, kidney, mental illness, etc. Hence its high mortality.

Despite having no cure, correct prevention and insulin injections are helping diabetes, at least in developed countries, cause fewer and fewer deaths.

7. Insanity: 1.5 million

Dementias are neurological disorders characterized by a progressive deterioration of brain cells, which slowly degenerate to death. The most common type of dementia in the world is Alzheimer's, which affects people over 65 years of age.

The causes are unknown, although the genetic factor is known to be very important. Dementia causes a slow but continuous decrease in mental capacity. At first, it manifests itself with problems to communicate, memory loss, difficulty in coordinating motor skills, changes in personality, anxiety, hallucinations ...

Over time, this degeneration of neurons ends up causing the brain to not even control vital functions, so the person ends up dying from the disease. Despite the absence of a cure, current medications help improve symptoms temporarily so that the affected person can lead an independent life as long as possible.

8. Diarrheal diseases: 1.39 million

Diarrheal diseases are all those infectious diseases that are transmitted mainly through food and water contaminated with fecal matter, which may contain pathogenic bacteria and viruses.

Gastroenteritis, salmonellosis, listeriosis, campylobacteriosis ... All these diseases cause very intense diarrhea that, if not treated correctly, can end up causing death, especially among children in poor countries, who are more sensitive to these diseases. In fact, each year they kill more than 500,000 children under the age of five.

In developed countries, they do not affect as much as we have water purification systems and we have access to treatments that resolve complications quickly, but in poor countries, they are one of the main causes of death.

9. Tuberculosis: 1.337 million

Despite the contrary, tuberculosis continues to exist and, in fact, is among the top ten causes of death in the world. Although it is rare for developed cases to occur in developed countries, in poor countries it continues to be responsible for a very high number of deaths.

Tuberculosis is caused by "Mycobacterium tuberculosis", a bacterium that spreads through the air when an infected person speaks, coughs, or sneezes and infects the lungs and other parts of the body.

The most common symptoms are severe cough, coughing up blood, spitting up bloody mucus, weakness, and taiga, high fever, chills, weight loss, night sweats ...

Without treatment with antibiotics and other appropriate medications, tuberculosis is almost always fatal. And considering that it affects almost exclusively poor countries where they do not have access to these drugs, tuberculosis continues to be one of the main causes of death in the world.

10. AIDS: 1.1 million

AIDS is a disease that, although we progressively achieve that it causes fewer deaths, represents one of the greatest pandemics in human history. In fact, since its appearance in the 1980s, it has killed more than 35 million people.

It is an infectious disease caused by the HIV virus, a virus that is transmitted through sexual contact. The virus can go years without showing signs of its presence, but when it does, it begins to cause a serious weakening of the immune system: the person has developed AIDS.

AIDS causes recurrent fever, extreme weight loss, chronic diarrhea, weakness and persistent fatigue, etc., and ends up causing the death of the person if no treatments are applied. Despite the fact that there is no cure, we have pharmacological therapies that slow down the development of the disease, making it possible to prevent a person with HIV from expressing AIDS throughout their lives,

Bibliographic references

World Health Organization (1999) "Removing Obstacles to Healthy Development". QUIEN.

World Health Organization (2018) “Managing epidemics: Key facts about major deadly diseases”. QUIEN.

World Health Organization (2018) "The top 10 causes of death". QUIEN.