Merlin Thomas, Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute and Paul Zimmet, Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute
Diabetes is a leading cause of death as well as of heart attacks, strokes, amputations, kidney failure, depression and severe infections – all of which themselves contribute to premature death.
The lung is like an upside-down tree where the wind pipe is the trunk and the bronchi are the branches. Chronic lower respiratory diseases affect these branches.
Dementia is the third leading cause of death in Australia. As the population ages, the number of people with dementia is expected to rise, as is the number of deaths from dementia.
Currently, seven cancer types are listed in the top 20 causes of death in Australia. These are cancers of the lung, blood and lymph, bowel, prostate, breast, pancreas, skin and some childhood cancers.
Global deaths from heart disease rose from 12.3 million in 1990 to 17.3 million in 2013. Most of the increase occurred in developing countries and in disadvantaged people in developed countries.