Risks and Death Facts ~ Older Adults

Risk factors:

According to the latest statistics from Our World In Data’s Global Burden of Disease Indicator (2018), the top five death risk factors among older adults worldwide are preventable and reversible conditions that are also risk factors for cardiovascular disease, the number one cause of death worldwide:

·        High blood pressure 6.35 m

·        High blood sugar [diabetes] 3.03 m

·        Smoking 2.4 m

·        High cholesterol 2.4 m

·        Obesity 2.07 m

Causes of death:

Sadly, the number one cause of death worldwide is cardiovascular disease and in most cases, it is a preventable condition.  The leading cause of death in older adults worldwide is cardiovascular disease with 11.11 million deaths in 2016, followed by cancer at 3.93 million.  Cancer risk factors include alcohol, carcinogenic substances, chronic inflammation, obesity, hormones, tobacco, and more, as indicated in the Cancer Prevention Overview from the NIH National Cancer Institute (2018). After cardiovascular disease and cancer, the top five causes of death in older adults are:  

·        Cardiovascular disease 11.11 m

·        Cancer 3.93 m

·        Respiratory disease 2.35 m

·        Dementia 2.23 m

·        Diabetes, blood, and endocrine diseases 1.7 m

Sources:

National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute (August 13, 2018).  https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/patient-prevention-overview-pdq

Worldwide Causes of Death 2016: OurWorldInData.org (August 28, 2018) https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/causes-of-death-in-70-year-olds

Worldwide Death Risk Factors: OurWorldInData.org (August 28, 2018) https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/deaths-by-risk-factor-over-70