Critical Health Domains

People surrounding earth

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Some beginning suggestions and guidance may be helpful in focusing in on critical areas of need. The following information obtained from the World Health Organization may be of assistance in developing your own research interest group here at Global Medical Research.org.

CHRONIC DISEASES THAT ARE THE MAJOR CAUSE OF DEATH AND DISABILITY WORLDWIDE

Heart disease
There are many forms of heart disease. Coronary
heart disease, also known as coronary artery disease
or ischaemic heart disease, is the leading cause of
death globally. It is caused by disease of the blood
vessels (atherosclerosis) of the heart.

Stroke
Stroke is a disease of the brain caused by interference to
the blood supply. Stroke and heart disease are the main
cardiovascular diseases.

Cancer
Cancer describes a range of diseases in which abnormal
cells proliferate and spread out of control. Other terms used
are tumours and neoplasms. There are many types of cancer
and all organs of the body can become cancerous.

Chronic respiratory diseases
Diseases of the lung take many forms. Chronic obstructive
respiratory disease and asthma are the most common forms.
Chronic obstructive respiratory disease is caused by irreversible
obstruction of the larger airways in the lung; asthma is caused
by reversible obstruction of the smaller airways in the lung.

Diabetes
Diabetes is characterized by raised blood glucose (sugar)
levels. This results from a lack of the hormone insulin,
which controls blood glucose levels, and/or an inability of
the body’s tissues to respond properly to insulin. The most
common type of diabetes is type 2, which accounts for about
90% of all diabetes and is largely the result of excessive
weight and physical inactivity. The usual childhood form of
diabetes (type 1 diabetes) is caused by an absolute lack of
insulin. Without insulin, type 1 diabetes is rapidly fatal.

(WHO, 2004)

THE LEADING CAUSES OF DEATH WORLDWIDE 2002 DATA. PUBLISHED BY WHO (2004)
No.	Cause	Percent of all deaths
1	Ischaemic heart disease	12.6
2	Cerebrovascular disease	9.7
3	Lower respiratory infections	6.8
4	HIV/AIDS	4.9
5	Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease	4.8
6	Perinatal conditions	4.3
7	Diarrhoeal diseases	3.2
8	Tuberculosis	2.7
9	Malaria	2.2
10	Trachea, bronchus, lung cancers	2.2
11	Road traffic accidents	2.1
12	Diabetes mellitus	1.7

FUTURE TRENDS IN GLOBAL MORTALITY FOR 2032. PUBLISHED BY WHO (2008)
No.	Cause or Injury	Percent of all deaths
1	Ischaemic heart disease	14.2
2	Cerebrovascular disease	12.1
3	Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease	8.6
4	Lower respiratory infections	3.8
5	Road traffic accidents (n/a)	3.6
6	Trachea, bronchus, lung cancers	3.4
7	Diabetes mellitus	3.3
8	Hypertensive heart disease	2.1
9	Stomach cancer	1.9
10	HIV/AIDS	1.8
11	Nephritis and nephrosis	1.6
12	Self-inflicted injuries (n/a)	1.5
13	Liver cancer	1.4
14	Colon and recum cancers	1.4
15	Oesophagus cancer	1.3
16	Violence	1.2
17	Alzheimer and other dementias	1.2
18	Cirrhosis of the liver	1.2
19	Breast cancer	1.1
20	Tuberculosis	1.0
21	Neonatal infections and other	1.0
22	Prematurity and low birth weight	0.9
23	Diarrhoeal diseases	0.9

References:

World Health Organization. (2005). What is the deadliest disease in the world? Retrieved August 1, 2008, from http://www.who.int/features/qa/18/en/

World Health Organization. (2005). Chronic disease and their common risk factors. Retrieved August 1, 2008, from http://www.who.int/chp/chronic_disease_report/media/Factsheet1.pdf

World Health Organization. (2008). World Health Statistics 2008. (Page 29). Retrieved August 1, 2008, from http://www.who.int/whosis/whostat/EN_WHS08_Full.pdf.