- While in countries with more resources the majority of people die of ischemic heart disease, in nations with less possibilities they die of neonatal conditions.
- The possibility of accessing medical services is responsible for this difference.
- In poor countries there are diseases such as malaria and tuberculosis that still maintain a high incidence.
The cycle of life indicates that all people must die at some point. It is a process that cannot be avoided and that is why it is necessary to maintain a healthy lifestyle to avoid suffering during old age. Now, something quite striking is that the The main causes of mortality are not the same in all countries.
In this regard, the World Health Organization (WHO) indicates that the main causes of death on the planet are attributed to three main areas: cardiovascular disease (ischemic heart disease, stroke), respiratory disease (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lower respiratory tract infections), and neonatal conditions, including birth asphyxia and birth trauma, neonatal sepsis and infections, and complications of preterm birth.
Causes of death can also be grouped into three categories: communicable diseases (infectious and parasitic diseases and maternal, perinatal and nutritional conditions), noncommunicable (chronic) diseases and injuries.
Differences between high- and low-income countries
In the same tenor of the leading causes of deaththe WHO states that people living in low-income countries are much more likely to die from a communicable disease than from a non-communicable disease.
Despite a global decline, six of the ten leading causes of death in low-income countries are from communicable diseases.
In fact, the neonatal conditions occupy the first position and are followed by lower respiratory tract infections. One explanation for this phenomenon is because people from this type of nation do not have the possibility of accessing medical services. The lack of resources means that they cannot receive the most basic aspects.
Similarly, other diseases that in other parts of the world are almost eradicated here are still deadly. The best examples are the malaria and tuberculosis. Treatments and/or vaccines already exist for both, but there are still countries that cannot receive this type of care.
What are the causes of mortality in rich countries?
At the opposite point are the nations with the most financial resources. In those places people also die, although the reasons are quite different. The first position corresponds to the ischemic heart diseasewhich is responsible for 16% of all deaths.
The stroke and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease They are the second and third cause of death. They represent approximately 11% and 6% of all deaths, respectively.
Lower respiratory tract infections remain the world’s deadliest communicable disease, ranking as the fourth leading cause of death. However, the number of deaths has decreased considerably. In 2019, 2.6 million lives were claimed, which means 460 thousand less than in 2000.
while the diabetes it is now one of the 10 leading causes of death in the most advanced nations, after a significant percentage increase of 70% since 2000.
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