16 November 2018

“The 2017 Global Burden of Disease study released this week indicates that our focus at NIHI on discovering innovative interventions to tackle the non-communicable disease and their risk factors is right on the mark,”  says NIHI Director, Professor Chris Bullen.

The study found that ischaemic heart disease, stroke and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) all caused more than 1 million deaths worldwide in 2017. Just a handful of risk factors are responsible for an increased share of global disability compared to 1990: High blood pressure moved from fifth to first place, smoking from fourth to second place, high blood sugar from 11th to third place, and high body-mass index (BMI) from 16th to fourth place.

“Our researchers are working with others in New Zealand and around the world to identify effective, affordable, acceptable and scalable solutions to reduce the occurrence and impact of these risk factors and health conditions across all people – policies, programmes and treatments that prevent disease and promote wellbeing - for New Zealanders and others,” says Professor Bullen.

For more about the Global Burden of Disease 2017 results click here.