Oct 27, 2025
3 min read
World's largest health survey warns of rising deaths Preventable causes among young people in developed countries.
All-cause mortality has declined in nearly every age group and country since the 1950s, according to the largest study to date by the University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME).
However, this improvement did not occur among the young and old, where death rates due to alcohol-related strokes are increasing.
In the case of Spain, the rates continue in the middle of Western Europe, although Inye shows an increase in the murder of people under 40 years.
The Challenge of Change in Global Health
The study, presented at the World Health Assembly in Berlin and published in the Lancet journal, is part of the Global Burden of Diseases (GBD 2023) project and analyzes data from 204 countries and 660 regions between 1990 and 2023.Despite population growth and aging, global mortality has decreased. The disease has stopped at 76.3 years for women and 71.5 years for men.
But this positive evolution does not extend to all groups.The report highlights rising death rates among 15- to 39-year-olds, particularly in high-income North America and Eastern Europe, from preventable causes: suicide, drug overdose and excessive alcohol consumption.
Spain: stability in life cycle, but high risk in young people
In Spain, GBD 2023 data confirms that the country continues to have one of the lowest youth mortality rates in the country due to the lowest prevalence of opioid use.In 2023, life expectancy would be 86 years for women and 80.4 for men, pre-pandemic.
Although Spain's crude death rate remains one of the lowest in Western Europe, its recovery worries experts.In addition, data show increases in mental disorders, attempts at self-harm, and substance use among adolescents and young adults.
Non-communicable diseases, the leading cause of death
In biological terms, the study reveals that non-communicable diseases (NCD), such as heart disease, diabetes, represent almost two ways of global death.Since the 1990s, the burden of the disease has declined, with NCDS becoming more prevalent in countries with more infections.
In Spain, this epidemiological transition is already clearly visible: the main causes of death are coronary heart disease, cancer and stroke.However, among the younger generation, other major risk factors include high BMI, tobacco and alcohol use, work-related accidents and risky sexual behavior.
INE data also show that the under-40s account for more than 70% of all deaths from preventable causes.
Risk factors: Half of deaths are preventable
Almost half of the world's deaths and disabilities are related to modifiable risk factors, according to GBD.The top ten include high blood pressure, smoking, high blood sugar or obesity.
The report also highlighted the geographical disparity: although the average age of death in the country is 80 years and 74 years for men, in sub-Saharan Africa it is no more than 37 years for men and 34 years.
The authors of the study indicate that this uneven evolution of global mortality requires the strengthening of prevention policies aimed at younger age groups where preventable causes predominate.Both the IHME and INE data agree that mental health, consumer habits and road safety are becoming the main health challenges for the young population in high-income countries.
