The Good News And Bad News About How People Die - SUSAN BRINK

There has been a profound — and positive — change since 1990 in how people die around the world, a new study shows. "We've made great progress in reducing the risks of maternal and child health, diarrhea, pneumonia, though there's still more work to be done," says Dr. Alan Lopez, author of a global analysis of risk factors of death published this week in the journal The Lancet. Since 1990, childhood malnutrition and unsafe water have fallen off the top 10 causes of death around the world.

"The natural consequence of that is that more babies are living to adolescence and adulthood," says Lopez, chair of Global Health and Burden of Disease Measurement at the University of Melbourne. "It's reminding governments that they also have to keep those adolescents alive and well into old age."

And that's where the bad news of the global health report comes in. High blood pressure, which leads to heart attacks and strokes, is still the leading cause of death, and smoking is No. 2. And obesity has crept up the list from No. 5 to become the third most prevalent risk factor for premature death around the world. Now those and other lifestyle factors, like high cholesterol, high blood sugar, diets low in fruits and high in salt, and alcohol use make up eight of the top 10 risks for early death.

"From the risks we've identified and quantified, just under 60 percent of premature deaths are preventable," says Lopez. - Read More at NPR

The Good News And Bad News About How People Die

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