What Are the Deadliest Diseases in the World?

Many life-threatening diseases are developing at a fast pace all over the world. Humans have been battling against many deadliest diseases for almost thousands of years. With the help of vaccination and medicine, many deadly diseases like smallpox and plague have been eradicated. Humans should be able to adapt to the environment by following Charles Darwin’s concept of “survival of the fittest” instead of worrying about incurable diseases. But what are the deadliest diseases in the world? Read on to know. 

The world’s deadly disease doesn’t mean deadly diseases without a cure but also life-threatening diseases. There is a vast difference between the world’s deadliest disease, incurable disease, and life-threatening disease. Many of the following diseases are even curable and preventable. Our list of deadly diseases in the world includes the diseases that cause more deaths in the world. 

Here is the list of life-threatening diseases: 

1. Heart Diseases

Heart diseases top the list of the world’s deadliest diseases. In 2020 nearly 690,8820 (excluding stroke-dead cases) people died of heart disease in the U.S, which is twice the time of COVID-19 death cases i.e 345,323. There are many different types of heart disease and altogether “heart disease” is one of the deadliest diseases in the world.  

2. Lower Respiratory Diseases

Lower respiratory infections include any infections in the lungs or below the voice box. The lower respiratory infection can occur due to influenza/flu, pneumonia, tuberculosis, and bronchitis. Nearly 3 million people die from respiratory diseases each year and these life-threatening diseases cause death even among children under 5 years.  

3. Respiratory Cancers

Respiratory cancer is one of the deadliest diseases in history and it includes cancer of the trachea, larynx, lungs, and bronchus. The main cause of respiratory cancers is smoking but even household pollutants and environmental toxins also contribute to causing this disease. The American Cancer Society estimates that there will be about 131,880 deaths from lung cancer in the U.S in 2021. 

4. Diabetes

Diabetes also comes under life-threatening diseases and it is also one of the incurable diseases. According to WHO, an estimated 1.5 million deaths were directly caused by diabetes in 2019. There are different types of diabetes and people from low to middle-income countries are more likely to die of complications from this disease. 

5. Alzheimer Disease or Dementia

Alzheimer’s disease not only gives you memory loss but also leads to loss of life. Alzheimer’s disease shrinks your brain and kills your brain cells. It also causes 60-80% of dementia that causes difficulty in thinking, unpredictable behavior, and affects a person’s ability to function independently. It is said that around 50 million people might be living with Alzheimer’s disease.