4. Priorities for Global Research and Development of Interventions

Table 4.2: Leading Causes of the Disease Burden, by World Bank Region, 2001

Leading Causes of the Disease Burden, by World Bank Region, 2001
Rank	East Asia and the Pacific	Europe and Central Asia	Latin America and the Caribbean	Middle East and North Africa	South Asia	Sub-Saharan Africa	High-income countries
1	Cerebrovascular diseases	Ischemic heart disease	Perinatal conditions^a	Ischemic heart disease	Perinatal conditions^a	HIV/AIDS	Ischemic heart disease
2	Perinatal conditions^a	Cerebrovascular diseases	Unipolar depressive disorders	Perinatal conditions^a	Lower respiratory infections	Malaria	Cerebrovascular diseases
3	Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease	Unipolar depressive disorders	Homicide and violence	Traffic accidents	Ischemic heart disease	Lower respiratory infections	Unipolar depressive disorders
4	Ischemic heart disease	Self-inflicted injuries	Ischemic heart	Lower respiratory infections	Diarrheal diseases	Diarrheal diseases	Alzheimer's disease and other dementias
5	Unipolar depressive disorders	Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease	Cerebrovascular diseases	Diarrheal diseases	Unipolar depressive disorders	Perinatal conditions^a	Tracheal and lung cancer

Source: Mathers and others 2003.

a. Perinatal conditions include low birthweight, birth asphyxia, and birth trauma.