Chronic diseases cause 36 million deaths per year

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) or chronic diseases cause the deaths of 36 million citizens worldwide each year, according to the latest data from the World Health Organization (WHO), with 80% of these deaths occurring in low- and middle-income countries. Cardiovascular diseases top the list of the deadliest diseases, causing the deaths of 17.3 million people a year, followed by 7.6 million from cancer, 4.2 million from respiratory disorders (such as asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) and 1.3 million from diabetes. These four groups of diseases are also the main cause of 80% of chronic deaths.

In addition, these diseases share four risk factors: the harmful use of alcohol, tobacco consumption, physical inactivity and unhealthy diets. The WHO warns that, although these elements can increase the risk of suffering from a chronic disease, they can also be determinant in its appearance in the long term. Tobacco, one of the vices with the greatest impact on developed societies, causes 6 million deaths per year (600,000 of which correspond to passive smoking) and the WHO estimates that by 2030 this figure will rise to 8 million.

At the present time, non-communicable diseases are still the leading cause of death worldwide, with the exception of Africa, and of these, more than 9 million are among people under 60 years of age. WHO, in view of the seriousness of the figures, is preparing the ‘Action Plan 2008-2013 of the global strategy for the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases’ with the aim of helping all member states and other international organizations to reduce the number of chronic diseases.