The top 10 causes of deaths worldwide have changed in the last few years, with one cause of death dropping in frequency, the World Health Organization found.
The report, released Aug. 7, listed the top 10 causes of death in 2021, which accounted for 39 million deaths worldwide. The top categories included cardiovascular and respiratory illnesses.
Here are five changes in causes of death to know:
- Ischemic heart disease was the top cause of death in 2021, accounting for 13% of deaths worldwide. It has seen the largest increase in death caused since 2000, going from 2.7 million to 9.1 million deaths.
- COVID-19 outpaced other diseases; it was the second-leading cause of death.
- Lower respiratory infections other than COVID-19 were the fifth-leading cause of death, but the number of deaths dropped by 370,000 in a year.
- Diabetes is among the top causes of death and has risen 95% since 2000.
- HIV and AIDS are no longer among the top causes of death.