- Noncommunicable diseases cause two-thirds of global deaths.
- Young people face increasing mortality rates, notably from suicide and drug overdose.
- Child and maternal malnutrition are critical risk factors in children under age 5.
Deaths fell overall globally in 2023, according to a new report that also warns that deaths among young people have risen and health inequities are widening.
The latest Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study is published in The Lancet and was presented at the World Health Summit in Berlin on Monday.
The report says that noncommunicable diseases like heart disease, stroke and diabetes are responsible for almost two-thirds of deaths around the world. And the researchers estimate that half of those deaths could be prevented with lifestyle changes and preventive care like reducing high blood sugar or losing weight.
“The rapid growth in the world’s aging population and evolving risk factors have ushered in a new era of global health challenges,” Dr. Christopher Murray, director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington School of Medicine, said in a written statement. “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.”
More than 16,000 scientists and researchers collected and analyzed data on death and disability globally, using more than 310 data sources. They focused on demographic analysis, cause of death and the “burden of diseases, injuries and risk factors.”
Life expectancy
According to the report, age-standardized mortality fell 67% since 1970, with every country marking declines. One reason may be the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, which drove death rates higher; life expectancy is now at pre-pandemic levels. Females average 76.3 years, while males average 71.5 years — both 20 years higher than in 1950.
But there’s still a wide range, with life expectancy reaching into the 80s for high-income areas and as low as 62 years in sub-Saharan Africa.
But deaths have increased for teens and young adults. The biggest increase was found in North America from 2011-2023, driven primarily by suicide, drug overdose and excessive alcohol. During that time, deaths for those ages 5 to 19 rose in Eastern Europe, North America and the Caribbean.
Meanwhile, infant deaths declined the most, with East Asia seeing the biggest drop among children under 5 because of better food, vaccines and better access to health care.
The report said that mortality in children ages 5 to 14 in sub-Saharan Africa and in young adult females was higher than had previously been reported.
Risk factors
According to the report, almost half of the deaths and disabilities around the world in 2023 could be laid at the door of 88 modifiable risk factors. The researchers said that controlling blood pressure, reducing pollution, not smoking, controlling blood sugar, preventing prematurity and low birthweight, maintaining a healthy weight, controlling cholesterol and reducing lead exposure were among steps that could have made a big difference.
For the youngest children, those under age 5 in 2023, the main risk factors were child and maternal malnutrition, particulate matter pollution and water, hygiene and sanitation that were not safe.
Iron deficiency was a key risk factor for those ages 5 to 14.
Among those age 15 to 49, unsafe sex and occupational injuries were leading factors that bumped up death rates and injuries.
COVID no longer a top cause of death
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported in September that the overall death rate in the U.S. fell almost 4% in 2024, likely because COVID-19 was no longer one of the top 10 reasons people died. COVID-19 had been highly ranked for more than three years.
“The overall rate declined from 750.5 per 100,000 people in 2023 to 722 per 100,000, according to the report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS),” as ABC News reported, making it the lowest death rate since 2020.
Earlier this year, the CDC reported a nearly 24% drop in drug overdose deaths in the U.S. for the 12 months ending September 2024. It noted the fewest overdose deaths in any 12-month period since June 2020, based on provisional data.