Life expectancy increased as world addressed major killers including diarrhea, lower respiratory infections, and stroke

Poor management of pandemic curtailed progress in many places

2024-04-04

(Press-News.org) Global life expectancy increased by 6.2 years since 1990 according to a new study published in The Lancet. Over the past three decades, reductions in death from leading killers fueled this progress, including diarrhea and lower respiratory infections, as well as stroke and ischemic heart disease. When the COVID-19 pandemic arrived in 2020, however, it derailed progress in many locations. This is the first study to compare deaths from COVID-19 to deaths from other causes globally.

Despite the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, the researchers found that the super-region of Southeast Asia, East Asia, and Oceania had the largest net gain in life expectancy between 1990 and 2021 (8.3 years), largely due to reductions in mortality from chronic respiratory diseases, stroke, lower respiratory infections, and cancer. The super-region’s strong management of the COVID-19 pandemic helped preserve these gains. South Asia had the second-largest net increase in life expectancy among super-regions between 1990 and 2021 (7.8 years), primarily thanks to steep declines in deaths from diarrheal diseases.

“Our study presents a nuanced picture of the world’s health,” said Dr. Liane Ong, co-first author of the study and a Lead Research Scientist at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME). “On one hand, we see countries’ monumental achievements in preventing deaths from diarrhea and stroke,” she said. “At the same time, we see how much the COVID-19 pandemic has set us back.”

The study also highlights how COVID-19 radically altered the top five causes of death for the first time in 30 years. COVID-19 displaced a long-dominant killer – stroke – to become the second-leading cause of death globally. The research presents updated estimates from the Global Burden of Disease Study (GBD) 2021. The authors found that the super-regions where the COVID-19 pandemic hit hardest were Latin America and the Caribbean and sub-Saharan Africa, which lost the most years of life expectancy due to COVID-19 in 2021. While documenting the enormous loss of life caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the researchers also pinpointed the reasons behind the improvements in life expectancy in every super-region. Looking across different causes of death, the study reveals sharp drops in deaths from enteric diseases – a class of diseases that includes diarrhea and typhoid. These improvements increased life expectancy worldwide by 1.1 years between 1990 and 2021. Reductions in deaths from lower respiratory infections added 0.9 years to global life expectancy during this period. Progress in preventing deaths from other causes also drove up life expectancy around the world, including stroke, neonatal disorders, ischemic heart disease, and cancer. For each disease, reductions in deaths were most pronounced between 1990 and 2019.

At the regional level, Eastern sub-Saharan Africa experienced the largest increase in life expectancy, which jumped by 10.7 years between 1990 and 2021. Control of diarrheal diseases was the leading force behind improvements in this region. East Asia had the second-largest gain in life expectancy; the region’s success in slashing deaths from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease played a key role.

The GBD 2021 study measures mortality by cause of death and years of life lost at global, regional, national, and subnational levels. The analysis links specific causes of death to changes in life expectancy.

The study illuminates not only the diseases that have driven increases and decreases in life expectancy, but also looks at how patterns of disease have shifted across locations over time, presenting, as the authors write, an “opportunity to deepen our understanding of mortality-reduction strategies…[which] might reveal areas where successful public health interventions have been implemented.”

GBD 2021 highlights places that have made huge strides in preventing deaths from major diseases and injuries. It also emphasizes how some of the most burdensome diseases are now concentrated in certain locations, underscoring opportunities for intervention. For example, in 2021, deaths from enteric diseases were largely concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. For another disease, malaria, the researchers found that 90% of deaths occurred in an area inhabited by just 12% of the world’s population in a stretch of land ranging from Western sub-Saharan Africa through Central Africa to Mozambique.

“We already know how to save children from dying from enteric infections including diarrheal diseases, and progress in fighting this disease has been tremendous,” said Professor Mohsen Naghavi, the study’s co-first author and the Director of Subnational Burden of Disease Estimation at IHME. “Now, we need to focus on preventing and treating these diseases, strengthening and expanding immunization programs, and developing brand-new vaccines against E. coli, norovirus, and Shigella,” he added.

In addition to providing new insights on COVID-19, the study reveals growing threats from non-communicable diseases, such as diabetes and kidney diseases, which are increasing in every country. The researchers also point to uneven progress against conditions such as ischemic heart disease, stroke, and cancer. High-income countries have driven down deaths from many types of non-communicable diseases, but many low-income countries have not.

“The global community must ensure that the lifesaving tools that have cut 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,” said Eve Wool, senior author of the study and a Senior Research Manager at IHME.

For interview requests, journalists may contact media@healthdata.org. For full study results, including the paper and related tables, finalized PDFs are available at https://bit.ly/2021CoD, embargoed until 23.30 UK, 6:30 p.m. EDT on April 3, 2024. The post-embargo link for the paper is https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(24)00367-2/fulltext. An infographic summarizing the study’s findings can be found at https://bit.ly/3TDwsce.

About the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation

The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) is an independent research organization at the University of Washington (UW). Its mission is to deliver to the world timely, relevant, and scientifically valid evidence to improve health policy and practice. IHME carries out its mission through a range of projects within different research areas including the Global Burden of Diseases (GBD), Injuries, and Risk Factors; Future Health Scenarios; Cost Effectiveness and Efficiency; Resource Tracking; and Impact Evaluations.

IHME is committed to providing the evidence base necessary to help solve the world’s most important health problems. This requires creativity and innovation, which are cultivated by an inclusive, diverse, and equitable environment that respects and appreciates differences, embraces collaboration, and invites the voices of all IHME team members.

About the Global Burden of Disease Study

The Global Burden of Disease Study (GBD) is the largest and most comprehensive effort to quantify health loss across places and over time. It draws on the work of more than 11,000 collaborators across more than 160 countries and territories. GBD 2021 — the newly published most recent round of GBD results — includes more than 607 billion estimates of 371 diseases and injuries and 88 risk factors in 204 countries and territories. The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation coordinates the study.

Tables

Table 1: Leading causes of death, global, 1990

Cause

Rank

Age-standardized rate per 100,000

Ischemic heart disease

1

158.9

Stroke

2

144.3

COPD

3

71.9

Lower respiratory infections

4

61.8

Diarrheal diseases

5

60.6

Neonatal disorders

6

46.0

Tuberculosis

7

40.0

Tracheal, bronchus, and lung cancer

8

27.6

Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias

9

25.1

Cirrhosis and other chronic liver diseases

10

24.4

Stomach cancer

11

22.0

Road injuries

12

21.8

Hypertensive heart disease

13

20.9

Diabetes mellitus

14

18.2

Colon and rectum cancer

15

15.6

Congenital birth defects

16

15.2

Self-harm

17

14.9

Chronic kidney disease

18

14.9

Malaria

19

12.5

Measles

20

11.0

Falls

21

10.9

*HIV/AIDS

34

5.9

*Cause shown to display changes over time.

Table 2: Leading causes of death, global, 2019

Cause

Rank

Age-standardized rate per 100,000

Ischemic heart disease

1

110.9

Stroke

2

89.3

COPD

3

46.1

Lower respiratory infections

4

34.7

Neonatal disorders

5

30.7

Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias

6

25.0

Tracheal, bronchus, and lung cancer

7

23.7

Diabetes mellitus

8

19.8

Chronic kidney disease

9

18.6

Diarrheal diseases

10

17.1

Cirrhosis and other chronic liver diseases

11

17.1

Hypertensive heart disease

12

16.9

Road injuries

13

15.1

Tuberculosis

14

14.9

Colon and rectum cancer

15

12.6

Stomach cancer

16

11.5

Falls

17

10.3

HIV/AIDS

18

9.8

Malaria

19

9.3

Self-harm

20

9.2

Congenital birth defects

21

8.9

*Measles

67

1.4

*Cause shown to display change over time.

Table 3: Leading causes of death, global, 2021

Cause

Rank

Age-standardized rate per 100,000

Ischemic heart disease

1

108.7

COVID-19

2

94.0

Stroke

3

87.4

COPD

4

45.2

Other COVID outcomes

5

32.3

Neonatal disorders

6

29.6

Lower respiratory infections

7

28.7

Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias

8

25.2

Tracheal, bronchus, and lung cancer

9

23.5

Diabetes mellitus

10

19.6

Chronic kidney disease

11

18.5

Cirrhosis and other chronic liver diseases

12

16.6

Hypertensive heart disease

13

16.3

Diarrheal diseases

14

15.4

Road injuries

15

14.6

Tuberculosis

16

14.0

Colon and rectum cancer

17

12.4

Stomach cancer

18

11.2

Malaria

19

10.5

Falls

20

9.9

Self-harm

21

9.0

HIV/AIDS

22

8.7

END

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Life expectancy increased as world addressed major killers including diarrhea, lower respiratory infections, and stroke

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