The 10 Leading Causes Of Death Worldwide And How To Prevent Them

These Are The 10 Leading Causes Of Death

Taken from a study by the World Health Organisation (WHO), the above video counts down the 10 biggest causes of death worldwide.

More importantly, it also gives advice on how to avoid them.

At number 10 is hypertensive heart disease. Conditions such as angina and coronary heart disease cause around 1.1 million deaths globally per year.

It’s the top killer associated with high blood pressure - risk factors of which include being overweight, getting little exercise, eating fatty foods regularly and smoking.

Death by road injury comes in at number nine. Every year, around 1.3 million people worldwide are killed in car crashes or die due to their injuries soon after.

Road injury is the only killer on this list that is non-health related. Although you can never be sure how others around you will drive, you can keep yourself as safe as possible by not drinking under the influence of alcohol or drugs, keeping to the speed limit and avoiding driving when tired.

The eighth biggest killer is diabetes mellitus and the seventh is diarrhoea-related disease.

Number six in the list is HIV/AIDS. AIDS continues to be one of the world’s most brutal killers, despite receiving less media coverage in recent years than it once did. It’s killed over 29 million people since it was discovered about 30 years ago, with 1.5 million people dying from the disease in 2013 alone.

At number five is lung cancer which causes around 1.6 million deaths worldwide each year. Cigarette smoking causes around 80 - 90% of all cases, so it’s pretty easy to keep your risk low.

Lower respiratory diseases such as pneumonia, bronchitis and influenza are fourth on the list killing 3.1 million people annually.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases - the term used for a collection of lung conditions - comes in at number three.

The second biggest cause of death worldwide is stroke, causing 6.7 million deaths yearly.

But the biggest cause of death on the WHO’s list is ischemic heart disease. Also known as coronary artery disease, this disease causes over seven million deaths globally each year.

The leading causes are smoking, genetics, high blood pressure, lack of exercise and stress.

Check out the video above for more info on how to protect yourself against these causes of death, or talk to your GP if you’re worried.

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