According to The World Health Organization, a total of 67,000,000 people died worldwide in 2022, with 42,000,000 dying from chronic diseases. In other words, 63% of all global deaths were from chronic diseases. If we consider the annual 42,000,000 deaths over a three-year period, we arrive at 126,000,000 people passing away from chronic diseases. Suppose we compare that figure to the WHO’s approximate three-year total of 7,000,000 from COVID-related deaths. The difference is 119,000,000 more demises from chronic diseases than from Covid!
126,000,000 – 7,000,000 = 119,000,000
According to another resource, Our World in Data, since 2020, the global health landscape has been significantly impacted by both the COVID-19 pandemic and chronic diseases. Although COVID-19 has resulted in over 20 million deaths worldwide, chronic diseases—such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer, chronic respiratory diseases, and diabetes—have been responsible for approximately 75% of all global deaths.
This comparison highlights the substantial and ongoing impact of chronic diseases on global mortality, even amidst the acute crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic.
From my perspective, what is extremely important is to realize that, besides the comparative differences in the number of deaths, pathogenic pandemics come and go, while chronic disease pandemics are permanent, with the number of annual fatalities constantly rising.
With such an enormous difference in the number of deaths when comparing Covid to chronic diseases, it’s mind-boggling that global and national health institutions, including the WHO, CDC, and NIH, seem to ignore this reality. Logic says that if we allocated more time, effort, and finances to solving the chronic disease pandemic, people could be healthier and thus have a better chance of avoiding severe symptoms and even death when faced with pathogenic pandemics. This is especially significant when you consider that most people, especially the elderly, who died from Covid suffered from at least one chronic disease.
The graph below indicates the causes of death in 2019. Since the top eleven are chronic diseases, imagine what the chart would look like if there were a global push to eradicate chronic diseases, especially cardiovascular disease and cancer.
The following graph indicates how the number of chronic diseases worldwide has increased annually since 1990.
According to the Non-Communicable Disease Alliance (NCDA), an NGO based in Geneva, Switzerland, “over 25 percent of the world’s eight billion people live with at least one chronic disease, or non-communicable disease.” Each year, NCDs cut short 41 million lives, driving millions into poverty worldwide.”
Founded in 2009, NCDA brings together a unique network of members in more than 80 countries. The movement is unified by 1) researching common risk factors, including unhealthy diets, harmful use of alcohol, tobacco smoking, air pollution, and physical inactivity, and 2) finding solutions and treatments for chronic diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, chronic lung disease, diabetes, mental health, and neurological disorders.
Another disturbing fact is the recent decline in life expectancy in the United States. Never before in our history were children expected to die younger than their parents.
Also, since we know which chronic diseases are linked to the severe symptoms and deaths from Covid (i.e., cardiovascular, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and high blood pressure), wouldn’t it make sense to devote time and energy to find out which:
- Non-invasive Lifestyle practices have proven track records for preventing and reversing chronic diseases.
- Existing global populations experience few chronic diseases and live healthier and longer lives (i.e., The Blue Zones, rural China, Japan, and parts of Africa).
- Institutions and organizations spend billions of dollars on advertising to ensure we don’t take the natural route to optimal health.
FINAL THOUGHT
Pandemic – According to the Oxford dictionary, it’s an outbreak of a disease that occurs over a wide geographic area (such as multiple countries or continents) and typically affects a significant proportion of the population.
Although the definition of a pandemic is often vague and varies from source to source, I recommend the following two categories of pandemics because of the proven connection between chronic diseases and the severity of COVID symptoms.
● Communicable disease pandemics are caused by microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, parasites, and fungi that can be spread, directly or indirectly, from one person to another.
● Non-communicable disease pandemics are not transferred between people or other organisms (i.e., chronic diseases such as cardiovascular, cancer, diabetes, COPD).
The division into categories will inspire governments and health care professionals to attend to both types of pandemics and help to educate people on 1) the link between certain chronic diseases and dangerous pathogens and 2) the necessity of taking responsibility for their own health and welfare.
