Heart disease, diabetes, cancer killed most people in 2019, says WHO

The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Wednesday released the list of top 10 causes of death that accounted for most of the 55 million deaths worldwide in 2019. The UN health body said that it is important to know the causes of death in order to understand and improve how people live. The WHO said the report will highlight the importance of investing in a vital statistics system that collects data of daily deaths to help policy-makers understand how many people die and of what causes. 

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WHO divided the causes of death into three categories, communicable diseases, non-communicable, and injuries. The health organisation further said that most global deaths occurred in 2019 due to non-communicable diseases including ischaemic heart disease, stroke, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. It said that 7 out of 10 leading causes of death in 2019 were non-communicable diseases. The health body said non-communicable diseases together accounted for 74% of deaths globally in 2019.

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Ischaemic heart disease was the reason behind most global deaths in 2019 accounting for 16 percent of the 55 million deaths worldwide. Meanwhile, lower respiratory infections killed most people in the communicable diseases category. One of the deadliest communicable diseases that is no longer in the list of top 10 leading causes of death is HIV-AIDS, which has moved down from being at number 8 position in 2000 to 19th in 2019. 

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Communicable diseases biggest killer in low-income countries

WHO said that people living in low-income countries are far likely to die from communicable diseases than non-communicable diseases. While Ischaemic heart disease remained the top killer in lower-middle-income countries, upper-middle-income countries, and high-income countries, neonatal conditions killed most people in low-income countries. Malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV/AIDS all remain in the top 10 leading causes of death list. 

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