Cancer tops heart disease as No. 1 cause of death in some countries

Cancer tops heart disease as No. 1 cause of death in some countries

PanARMENIAN.Net - The world is slowly seeing cancer surpass cardiovascular disease as the leading cause of death among middle-age adults in several countries, according to a new study, CNN reports.

Among adults ages 35 to 70, cardiovascular disease still ranks as the leading cause of death globally, but the new research, published in the journal The Lancet on Tuesday, found that deaths from cancer are now more common than those from cardiovascular disease in some high-income and middle-income countries.

Those countries include Sweden, Canada, Chile, Argentina, Poland and Turkey.

The study is the largest of its kind analyzing causes of death across five continents, said Dr. Salim Yusuf, distinguished professor and executive director at the Population Health Research Institute at McMaster University in Canada, who was senior author of the study.

"We have been watching the decline in cardiovascular disease for a while in many countries," he said. "It was just a matter of time that the progress we make in reducing cardiovascular disease mortality will lead to a fall in death rates from cardiovascular disease below that of cancers."

The researchers noted in the study that "this epidemiological transition" might be due to improved prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease in high-income countries, whereas successful strategies to prevent and treat cancers, other than tobacco control, are yet to lead to large reductions in most cancers.

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