How causes of death changed across six centuries

Which common modern illnesses would have caused the most death in earlier centuries?

Infection and childbirth were major historical risks, while changing diagnosis complicates comparisons; no single illness is selected for every century.

Dr. Dan contrasts the earlier burden of infectious illness with the greater prominence of cancer, heart disease, and stroke in modern mortality. Childbirth was another major historical risk. Changing diagnosis complicates the comparison, since named conditions can replace broad labels in older accounts without a corresponding change in how common an illness was. Addison's apparently spontaneous cases are offered as an example of illnesses later attributed to tuberculosis. No single modern illness is identified as the deadliest in every century.