Table 1.
Comparison of total number of deaths attributable to risk factors between high-income countries and low-and-middle income countries (LMICs) in 2001. It is clear that, in LMICs, people are more at risk of dying from the causes which are influenced by lower socioeconomic status and lack of awareness about these diseases.
| Risk factor | LMICs | High-income countries | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total number of deaths | Percent | Total number of deaths | Percent | |
| Childhood underweight | 3,630 | 7.5 | 0 | 0 |
| Poor sanitation and unclean water | 1,563 | 3.2 | 4 | <0.1 |
| Smoking | 3,340 | 6.9 | 1,462 | 18.5 |
| Unsafe sex | 2,819 | 5.8 | 32 | 0.4 |
| Contaminated injections | 407 | 0.8 | 4 | <0.1 |
Source: Global Disease Burden, 2001.