A study recently published in The Lancet, providing the latest estimates from the global burden of disease, found that fewer deaths from leading causes of death, including diarrhea, lower respiratory tract infections, stroke, and ischemic heart disease, Global life expectancy has increased by 6.2 years since 1990. Research (GBD) 2021.
Despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Southeast Asia, East Asia and Oceania superregion experienced the largest increase in life expectancy of 8.3 years between 1990 and 2021, mainly due to This is due to a reduction in mortality rates from stroke and chronic respiratory diseases. diseases, cancer, lower respiratory tract infections, etc. South Asia had the second-highest increase in life expectancy among the super regions, by 7.8 years, mainly due to a sharp decline in deaths from diarrheal diseases.
“Our study presents a nuanced picture of global health,” said Dr. Lian Ong, co-lead author of the study and principal investigator at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME). Ta. “On the one hand, we see countries making monumental progress in preventing deaths from diarrhea and stroke,” she said. “At the same time, we also realized how much the COVID-19 pandemic is setting us back.”
The updated estimates pinpoint the huge number of lives lost during the pandemic and why life expectancy has improved across all super-regions. Across causes of death, deaths from enteric diseases, a type of disease such as typhoid fever and diarrhea, have declined significantly, and these improvements, together with declines in deaths from sub-diseases, have contributed to the global increase in deaths between 1990 and 2021. Average life expectancy increased by 1.1 years. Respiratory infections add him 0.9 years. Advances in preventing death from other causes, such as stroke, neonatal disorders, cancer, and ischemic heart disease, have also boosted global life expectancy, with the decline in deaths from each disease being most pronounced between 1990 and 2019. .
At the regional level, eastern sub-Saharan Africa experienced the largest increase in life expectancy by 10.7 years between 1990 and 2021, mainly due to improved management of diarrheal diseases. East Asia saw the second largest increase, driven by the success of the region’s efforts to prevent deaths from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
The latest estimates also highlight regions that have made significant progress in preventing deaths from serious illness and injury, highlighting how some of the most burdensome diseases are concentrated in specific places. , suggesting opportunities for intervention. For example, deaths from enteric diseases appear to be concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia in 2021. In a region that stretches from Western Sub-Saharan Africa to Central Africa and Mozambique, home to 12% of the world’s population, 90% of malaria deaths occur in this region.
“We already know how to save children from dying from enteric infections, including diarrheal diseases, and progress in the fight against this disease is remarkable,” said co-lead author of the study. , said Professor Mohsen Nagavi, Director of Regional Burden of Disease Estimation at IHME. . “We now need to focus on preventing and treating these diseases, strengthening and expanding immunization programs, and developing completely new vaccines against E. coli, norovirus and rubella,” he added.
Furthermore, the latest estimates reveal that the threat from non-communicable diseases such as kidney disease and diabetes is increasing and is increasing at an alarming rate across countries. The study points to unequal progression for certain diseases such as cancer, stroke, and ischemic heart disease. Although deaths from many types of non-communicable diseases appear to be declining in high-income countries, they are not in many low-income countries.
“The global community is committed to ensuring that the life-saving tools that have reduced deaths from ischemic heart disease, stroke and other non-communicable diseases in most high-income countries are available to people in all countries, even where resources are limited. We need to be able to do that,” Eve said. Wool is the study’s senior author and a senior research manager at IHME.
