Aims

To support the free and open dissemination of research findings and information on alcoholism and alcohol-related problems. To encourage open access to peer-reviewed articles free for all to view.

For full versions of posted research articles readers are encouraged to email requests for "electronic reprints" (text file, PDF files, FAX copies) to the corresponding or lead author, who is highlighted in the posting.

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Saturday, October 31, 2009

WHO - A response to the need for comprehensive, consistent and comparable information on health risks at global and regional level.


The leading global risks for mortality in the world are high blood pressure (responsible for 13% of deaths globally), tobacco use (9%), high blood glucose (6%), physical inactivity (6%), and overweight and obesity (5%). These risks are responsible for raising the risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes and cancers. They affect countries across all income groups: high, middle and low.


The leading global risks for burden of disease as measured in disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) are underweight (6% of global DALYs) and unsafe sex (5%), followed by alcohol use (5%) and unsafe water, sanitation and hygiene (4%). Three of these risks particularly affect populations in low-income countries, especially in the regions of South-East Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. The fourth risk – alcohol use – shows a unique geographic and sex pattern,with its burden highest for men in Africa, in middle-income countries in the Americas and in some high-income countries.


Download the full report [pdf 3.77Mb]

MORE INFORMATION ON THE REPORT

Key figures and graphs [ppt 1.17Mb]

THE REPORT IN SECTIONS

:: Front cover, table of contents and summary [pdf 930kb]
:: Part 1: Introduction [pdf 994kb]
:: Part 2: Results [pdf 1.57Mb]
:: Part 3: Joint effects of risk factors [pdf 443kb]
:: Annex A: Data and methods [pdf 841kb]
:: References [pdf 148kb]

STATISTICS FROM THE REPORT

:: Regional estimates of YLL, YLD, DALYs, and deaths attributable to 24 risk factors for 2004: estimates of exposure prevalence for selected risk factors
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