Beware! Several major killers that have taken away the health of hundreds of millions of Chinese people are seriously threatening your life span! !

Readers who often read popular science articles know that there are tens of millions of disease risks of varying sizes that we face in life.

If we line up all the diseases, which ones are the “number one killer” threatening the health of the Chinese people?

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In 2019, The Lancet published a report that systematically recorded and analyzed the main causes of death among the Chinese population from 1990 to 2017.

The report shows that the main causes of death in China include 25 diseases such as neonatal diseases, liver cancer, diabetes, cirrhosis, lower respiratory tract infection and drowning. This is tantamount to a thorough investigation, which directly shows the loss of life expectancy (DALY) due to disease.

As shown in the figure, the top five diseases that kill hundreds of millions of Chinese people are: stroke, ischemic heart disease, lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and liver cancer. Traffic accidents, which rank sixth , are a special existence and should also be taken seriously.

Image source: Reference [1]

Let’s take a look at these risk factors that stand between you and your life expectancy.

01

Stroke

Cerebral infarction, commonly known as stroke, is the leading cause of death among Chinese people. It has been among the top three causes of death among Chinese people from 1990 to 2017. [1]

High morbidity, high disability rate, high mortality rate, high recurrence rate and high economic burden - the five major characteristics of stroke often make people shudder.

How common is it? Studies show that the lifetime risk of stroke in my country is 39.9%. This means that approximately 2 out of every 5 people will suffer from a stroke in their lifetime, and the incidence rate in men is higher than that in women. [2]

Image source: Reference [2]

It is worth noting that the incidence of stroke in China is becoming younger.

The average age of onset in my country is 65, which is significantly lower than the 75 years old in developed countries. In addition, the age group of 40 to 64 years old accounts for more than 66.6% of the first onset age.

Hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia, heart disease, smoking, alcohol intake, and lack of physical activity are all risk factors for stroke. Among them, the most often overlooked factor is an unreasonable diet. The more one’s eating habits tend to be high in calories, fat, and sugar, the greater the risk of chronic diseases. [2]

02

Ischemic heart disease

The most common ischemic heart disease is coronary heart disease, which is the second leading cause of death among Chinese residents. [1]

In 2013, the number of people aged 15 and above suffering from coronary heart disease in my country was 11.4 million, 1.08 million more than in 2008.

Coronary heart disease mortality in urban and rural areas of China from 2002 to 2019. Source: Reference [3]

Behind the rapidly increasing incidence rate is the fact that coronary heart disease is usually highly hidden.

In most cases, it occurs insidiously with elevated blood pressure, blood lipids and blood sugar levels, and often has already caused vascular lesions when it is detected. Therefore, people describe coronary heart disease as "silent and deadly." The factors that cause coronary heart disease are still inseparable from hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia, obesity, smoking, alcoholism, etc.

Only by raising health awareness and staying away from bad living habits can we effectively maintain cardiovascular health.

03

Lung cancer

Lung cancer is not only the leading cause of cancer death in my country, but also the fastest-rising cancer mortality rate in my country. This is related to the growing number of smokers in my country.

There are approximately 300 million male smokers in China, accounting for one-third of the world’s smokers, and an increasing number of minors and young women are joining the ranks of smokers. [4]

In recent years, there have even been literature reports that the age of onset of lung cancer in China has been declining and the lung cancer incidence curve has tended to move forward, with the age of onset being advanced by 5 to 10 years.

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As a commonplace topic, the severity of lung cancer is not always taken seriously. People often say that "xx smoked all his life but never got lung cancer".

The fact is that the lung cancer mortality rate among smokers is about 10 times higher than that of non-smokers. Every time you smoke, you are one step closer to lung cancer. [5]

At present, smoking is the only risk factor for lung cancer that can be avoided and intervened. So, as the old saying goes, quit smoking as soon as possible to reduce the risk of lung cancer.

Never take chances and gamble with your life, health and the ruthless disease.

04

Liver cancer

Liver cancer is the fifth most common malignant tumor in the world and one of the malignant tumors with the highest mortality rate.

It has long been known for its aggressive nature and high mortality rate.[6]

About 383,000 people die of liver cancer in my country each year, accounting for 51% of the global liver cancer deaths. The reason why liver cancer is so aggressive is that there are usually no symptoms or the symptoms are not obvious in the early stages. It is highly hidden and progresses rapidly. When diagnosed, most patients have reached the local advanced stage or metastasis, making treatment difficult. Therefore, liver cancer is also called the "silent killer."

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A large number of studies have shown that the main causes of liver cancer in my country include hepatitis virus infection, aflatoxin contamination of food, long-term alcoholism, and unhealthy diet. [7]

When searching for cases related to liver cancer, you will often see keywords such as ascites, jaundice, and upper respiratory tract bleeding. Each symptom requires vigilance.

05

Car Accident

According to statistics from the Ministry of Public Security, the number of motor vehicles in my country reached 417 million in 2022, and there were 84 cities in the country with a car ownership of more than one million.

The huge numbers reflected in our daily life not only mean that the roads are congested, but also that speeding, illegal driving, forced overtaking, fatigue driving, drunk driving, etc. are happening all the time. This has directly led to a significant increase in the incidence and mortality rate of traffic accidents in my country.

In 2017, traffic accidents ranked sixth among the causes of death among Chinese residents.

Data shows that in the past three years, the number of traffic accidents in China has exceeded 200,000. In 2021 alone, about 250,000 people were injured in traffic accidents in my country, and the death toll reached 61,703. [8]

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Whether you are an "experienced driver" or not, you should always remember when driving a motor vehicle that there are thousands of roads, but safety is the first priority.

After interpreting these causes of death among Chinese people, do you also have this feeling: disease is ruthless, so we must cherish our health even more.

Behind every number is a living life. He or she may be a mother, a father, an old person or a child.

Only by understanding the existence of these diseases, fully enhancing health awareness, and making disease risks controllable by changing lifestyle habits can we enjoy a better and better life without burden.

References:

[1] Maigeng Zhou, Haidong Wang, et al. Mortality, morbidity, and risk factors in China and its provinces, 1990–2017: a systematic analysis for the Global

Burden of Disease Study 2017[J]. The Lancet, 2019, 394(10204): 1145-1158.

[2] Editorial Group of “China Stroke Prevention and Treatment Report 2019”. Summary of “China Stroke Prevention and Treatment Report 2019”[J]. Chinese Journal of Cerebrovascular Diseases, 2020, 17(5): 272-281.

[3] China Cardiovascular Health and Disease Report Editorial Group. Summary of China Cardiovascular Health and Disease Report 2021[J]. Chinese Journal of Circulation, 2022, 37(6): 553-578.

[4] Chen Wanqing, Zhang Siwei, Zou Xiaonong. Estimation and epidemic trend of lung cancer incidence and mortality in China[J]. Chinese Journal of Lung Cancer, 2010, 13(5): 488-493.

[5] Yao Xiaojun, Liu Lunxu. Epidemiology and treatment status of lung cancer[J]. Modern Oncology, 2014, 22(8):1982-1986.

[6] Lü Guishuai, Chen Lei, Wang Hongyang. Current status and prospects of liver cancer research in my country[J]. Life Science, 2015, 27(3): 237-248.

[7] Ministry of Health of the People's Republic of China. Guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of primary liver cancer (2011 edition)[J]. Journal of Clinical Oncology, 2011, 16(10): 929-946.

[8] Zhiyan Consulting, “Analysis of China’s Road Traffic Accident Situation in 2021”

Produced by | Science Popularization China

Author｜jting Popular Science Creator

Review | Tao Ning Associate Researcher, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences

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