Johannesburg - High blood pressure, smoking and alcohol use are some of the leading risks associated with death in this country for both men and women.
This is according to a new study, which has made an analysis of 79 risks in 188 countries.
The study is titled “Global, regional and national comparative risk assessment of 79 behavioural, environmental and occupational and metabolic risks or clusters of risks in 188 countries 1990-2013: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study 2013”.
It was conducted by international researchers working on the GBD project and led by the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington.
It was published in the medical journal The Lancet.
Researchers used DALYs, or disability-adjusted life years, to measure health loss.
One DALY equals one lost year of healthy life and is measured by the sum of years of life lost to early death and years lived with disability.
High blood pressure was the No 1 individual risk factor associated with global deaths in 2013, contributing to 10.4 million deaths around the world. Its impact on mortality grew by 49.1 percent between 1990, when it was also the No 1 global risk.
The risk factors examined in the study contributed to 30.8 million deaths globally in 2013, up from 25.1 million deaths in 1990.
The top risks associated with the deaths of both men and women in 2013 globally were blood pressure, smoking, high body mass index and high fasting plasma glucose.
For South African men, smoking was the No 3 risk and was associated with the deaths of 23 122 men in 2013. It was the No 6 reason for the death of women, killing 12 303.
Women were also at a particularly high risk of intimate partner violence, which contributed to 14 826 female deaths and was ranked No 5 in risk.
A combination of 14 dietary risk factors contributed to the highest number of deaths worldwide through ailments like ischemic heart disease (an inadequate blood supply), stroke and diabetes.
In 2013, 21 percent of total global deaths were attributed to these risks, which include diets low in fruit, whole grains and vegetables and diets high in red meat and sugar-sweetened beverages.
“There’s great potential to improve health by avoiding certain risks like smoking and poor diet as well as tackling environmental risks like air pollution,” said IHME director Dr Christopher Murray.
“The challenge for policy-makers will be to use what we know to guide prevention efforts and health policies,” he said.
The Star