Here Are the Top Causes of Death Worldwide

However, the total number of deaths from noncommunicable diseases increased by 16 percent from 2006 to 2016, meaning there were an extra 5.5 million deaths from these conditions in 2016 compared to 10 years earlier. Ischemic heart disease was the leading cause of death, resulting in nearly 9.5 million deaths in 2016, an increase of 19 percent since 2006. Diabetes also caused 1.4 million deaths in 2016, up 31 percent since 2006.

Although the rate of death (which takes into account the total number of people worldwide) from noncommunicable diseases declined from 2006 to 2016, it did not decline as much as the rate of death from CMNN. (During the 10-year period, the rate of death from CMNN declined 32 percent, while the rate of death from noncommunicable diseases declined only 12 percent, the study said.)

"Patterns of global health are clearly changing, with more rapid declines in CMNN conditions than for other diseases and injuries," the researchers wrote in the Sept. 14 issue of the journal The Lancet. Although the reduction in CMNN deaths is "laudable," the findings suggest that noncommunicable diseases, "which cause very substantial mortality in young and middle-aged adults, need to receive much greater policy priority," the researchers said.

In addition, since 2006, the number of deaths from conflict and terrorism has risen significantly, reaching 150,500 deaths in 2016 (which is a 143 percent increase since 2006), the researchers said. This rise is largely a result of conflicts in North Africa and the Middle East, the scientists said.

Rates of death also increased for opioid use, amphetamine use and other drug use disorders in some locations — particularly in high-income countries, the researchers said. Overall, 1.1 billion people worldwide have some type of mental health or substance use disorder, the report found.

"Our findings indicate people are living longer and, over the past decade, we identified substantial progress in driving down death rates from some of the world's most pernicious diseases and conditions, such as under-age-5 mortality and malaria," Dr. Christopher Murray, co-author of the report and director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington in Seattle, said in a statement. "Yet, despite this progress, we are facing a 'triad of trouble' holding back many nations and communities — obesity, conflict, and mental illness, including substance use disorders."

The study was coordinated by the IHME and involved more than 2,500 collaborators from 130 countries and territories.