Nearly one third of the people on Earth — 2.3 billion — suffered from more than five health problems in 2013, according to a study cited in The New York Times.
According to The New York Times, these approximations illustrate the growing need for complex medical care. Here are five things to know about why chronic disease and ailments are on the rise, based on the report.
1. Increased life expectancy comes with increased chance for health problems. The average life expectancy worldwide is now 71 years old.
2. As society progresses, fatal ailments have been significantly reduced and new issues are beginning to take precedence. Between 1990 and 2013, age-standardized death rates around the world dropped 24 percent, according to the report. Communicable diseases, pregnancy-related issues and early childhood problems are fading as top issues in most countries, save sub-Saharan Africa, according to the report.
3. The top ailments worldwide are now more chronic issues that occur simultaneously and can last decades. Iron-deficiency anemia, hearing loss, low back pain and diabetes each affect more than 400 million people worldwide, making those the most common health issues, according to the report. The following health issues plagued Americans in 2013: Hearing loss (185 cases per 1,000 residents), back pain (132 cases per 1,000 residents), migraines (97 per 1,000), diabetes (83 per 1,000) and anxiety (71 per 1,000).
4. Today's top diseases and health issues tend to occur in concert with one another. In 2013, 11.6 percent of the population had just one medical condition, 17.1 percent had two conditions, 18.3 percent had three conditions, 16.1 percent had four, 12.3 had five and 8.4 percent had six conditions, according to the report. Based on this data, slightly less than 16 percent of the world's population had one or no medical condition in 2013, and the vast majority had more than one ailment.
5. Experts say health systems must adjust to treat simultaneous, nonfatal health issues. "This is a major societal challenge," Rifat Atun, MBBS, professor of global health systems at Harvard, told The New York Times. "It puts pressure on not just the health systems, but also the entire economy." He added, "The issue is not whether or not, but how rapidly can we transition health systems," according to the report.
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