Heart disease has long been the leading cause of death. However, a new global study has shown — in higher income countries, at least — that cancer is now twice as likely to cause death as heart disease.
In the United States, heart disease has traditionally topped the list as the leading cause of death for both men and women.
It is currently responsible for around 1 in 4 deaths. However, experts have been wondering when cancer will overtake it.
Now, a new study has found that cancer is fast becoming the leading cause of death in higher income countries, Medical News Today says.
This may seem like bad news, but the researchers behind the study — who investigated the occurrence of common conditions and causes of death in a wide spectrum of countries across the world — say that it is not necessarily so.
More specifically, they found that cancer now causes 55% of deaths among middle aged people in higher income countries, whereas heart disease causes just 23%.
The researchers, who have published their findings in The Lancet, say that this is due to improved efforts to prevent and treat heart disease in more prosperous countries.
"In some respects, this is a good news story," says co-lead study author Dr. Darryl Leong. "It suggests that efforts to treat blood pressure, cholesterol, and cardiovascular disease are meeting with some success."
