Almost all people have had some type of illness or injury: report

Seattle – Nearly the entire world’s population experienced some type of illness or injury in 2013, and one-third had more than five disorders, according to the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation.

For the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013, researchers examined nearly 36,000 records of more than 300 diseases and injuries from about 200 countries between 1990 and 2013. Across the world, more than 95 percent of the population had some type of illness or injury in 2013, the study states.

Americans are living longer but doing so with health issues, as rates of nonfatal ailments have decreased slower than death rates, according to a press release. Years lived with disability rose 42 percent since 1990.

The top causes of years lived with disability in 2013 among Americans were low back pain, other musculoskeletal disorders, “major depressive disorder,” anxiety disorders and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The leading causes have changed little but have taken a bigger toll due to aging and population increase, the release states.

Additionally, the number of people with more than 10 ailments grew 52 percent since 1990.

The report was published online June 7 in The Lancet.