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Cause of Death |
Unequal Causes of Death Infectious diseases still kill most in non-industrialized world and kill 1/3 worldwide 
Worldwide, one death in three is from an infectious or communicable disease, however, almost all these deaths occur in the non-industrialized world. Health inequality effects not just how people live, but often dictates how and at what age they die. The pie graphs (at right) show the different causes of death between regions of the world defined by the WHO as high and low mortality regions. These areas correspond closely with the non-industrialized and industrialized parts of the world. As the graph shows, the majority of people in high-mortality countries die of communicable diseases, while in low-mortality countries deaths are due largely to non-communicable diseases. |
 The
radar graph (below) shows regional differences in causes of death
in 2000. The thick brown line represents the world average for
each category of cause. style='color:black'>Then, regional rates
above and below average are shown with colored lines. For example,
the red line shows that infectious and parasitic diseases, including
measles and malaria, are more frequent causes of death in Sub-Saharan
Africa than elsewhere. Respiratory infection disproportionately effects people living in Southeast
Asia and Sub-Saharan African. These two regions are also particularly
hit by maternal and perinatal conditions
as well. The Asia and the West Pacific
region has a rate of non-communicable respiratory diseases, such
as chronic bronchitis and emphysema, that is nearly 2.5 times
higher than the rest of the world. Western Europe has a greater
proportion of deaths due to heart (cardiovascular) disease and
cancer (malignant and other neoplasms). |
Communicable diseases kill poor children Infectious diseases disproportionately affect children and childhood death rates. A baby girl born in Sub-Saharan Africa faces a 22 per cent risk of death before age 15. In China the risk is less than 5 per cent and in Industrialized countries the risk is just 1.1 per cent. The vast majority of these deaths could have been prevented with existing interventions. |
Non-communicable Diseases not disease of Affluence Non-industrialized regions often have lower life expectancies, even for non-communicable causes of death. Although these diseases, including heart disease and stroke, are the largest proportional killers of people in the industrialized world, they often kill a large population in non-industrialized world, and at a younger age. For example in 1990, of the 6.3 million people that died of heart disease, 57% were in the non-industrialized regions; among the 4.4 million people that died of stroke, 68% were in non-industrialized countries. When one looks at the probability of dying between the ages of 15 and 60, the industrialized and non-industrialized world have similar rates for non-communicable diseases. (See Table 9). This refutes the myth that non-communicable diseases, such as stroke and heart disease, mainly impact the affluent. Instead, it highlights that communicable diseases kill children in non-industrialized countries most often, and these deaths have a significant impact on overall world mortality rates. Controlling these diseases, through immunization and other means, can be one large step toward achieving health equality. References Burden of Disease Unit, (2000)."Executive Summary of The Global Burden of Disease and Injury Series, Harvard. New Glossary words (to be completed) communicable disease non-communicable disease maternal and perinatal conditions MapsLife Expectancy Infant Morality Under 5 Mortality Disease Prevalence Mortality Stratum WHO aggregates country data by geographic and mortality groups. More info LinksInternational Burden of Disease Network Papers Global Burden of Disease 2000 (WHO Whitepaper) http://www3.who.int/whosis/discussion_papers/pdf/paper50.pdf Data and Statistics WHO Cause of Death http://www3.who.int/whosis/menu.cfm?path=whosis,whsa&language=english |
