Mexico Chronic Disease Trends: Heart, Diabetes and Cancer Lead

IMSS General Hospital 1A 'Parque de los Venados' in Mexico City
File photo: IMSS General Hospital 1A ‘Parque de los Venados’ in Portales Norte, Mexico City, May 2024. Photo: Gerardo Emmanuel Ríos via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0.
High but easingUpdated 24 October 2026

Trend summary

  • Heart disease, diabetes and cancer are Mexico’s three biggest killers. In 2024 they caused 400,203 of 819,672 registered deaths, close to half, according to INEGI.
  • Preliminary 2025 figures show deaths easing: 177,673 from heart disease, 106,874 from diabetes and 92,006 from cancer. Diabetes deaths peaked at 151,019 in 2020, during Covid.
  • The 2022 national health survey (ENSANUT) found 18.3% of adults have diabetes, nearly a third of them undiagnosed. Almost half have high blood pressure, and 36.9% are obese.
  • Mexico taxed sugary drinks from 2014, put black warning labels on food from 2020, banned junk food sales in schools from March 2025 and outlawed the sale of vapes in January 2026. The drinks tax rose to MX$3.08 a litre in 2026.
177,673heart disease deaths, 2025 (preliminary)
18.3%of adults have diabetes, 2022
36.9%of adults are obese, 2022
MX$3.08tax per litre of sugary drink, 2026

What the numbers show

INEGI publishes causes of death from death certificates each year: a preliminary count in the summer and final figures in the autumn. In 2024, final figures show 819,672 registered deaths. Heart disease caused 192,518, diabetes 112,577 and malignant tumours (cancer) 95,108. Liver disease (40,645), cerebrovascular disease (34,784), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (19,136) and kidney failure (17,352) were also in the top ten (INEGI, Nov 2025). Preliminary data for 2025 show 762,494 deaths, with 177,673 from heart disease, 106,874 from diabetes and 92,006 from cancer (INEGI, Aug 2026). The longer view: in 2019 heart disease killed 156,041 people, diabetes 104,354 and cancer 88,680 (INEGI). Covid pushed diabetes deaths to 151,019 in 2020, about 14% of all deaths (INEGI). In 2021 heart disease deaths reached 225,449 and diabetes 140,729; by 2022 they were down to 200,023 and 115,025 (INEGI), and in 2023 to 189,210 and 110,059 (INEGI). In the first quarter of 2026, INEGI counted 49,252 heart disease deaths, against 51,382 a year earlier (INEGI; INEGI).

The national health and nutrition survey, ENSANUT, measures risk factors with blood tests and blood pressure readings. In 2022, 18.3% of adults aged 20 and over had diabetes: 12.6% knew it and 5.8% did not. Another 22.1% had prediabetes (Basto-Abreu et al., Salud Pública de México, 2023). About 47.8% had high blood pressure under the current US cardiology definition, and roughly 65% of them had never been told so (Campos-Nonato et al., 2023). Adult obesity was 36.9% (41.0% of women, 32.3% of men), and 75.2% were overweight or obese (Campos-Nonato et al., 2023). Diagnosed diabetes rose from 9.2% of adults in 2012 to 10.3% in 2018 (ENSANUT 2018). Obesity among children aged 5 to 11 rose from 9% in 1999 to 18.6% in 2021 (ENSANUT 2022 editorial). Kidney disease follows diabetes: an analysis of Global Burden of Disease data put chronic kidney disease prevalence at 9,184.9 per 100,000 people in 2021, with diabetes the most common cause (Argaiz et al., Gaceta Médica de México, 2024).

What is driving it

Diet is the main target. In January 2014 Mexico added an excise tax of one peso per litre to sugar-sweetened drinks, through a reform of the special production and services tax law published on 11 December 2013 (IEPS law). Using household shopping data, researchers found purchases of taxed drinks fell by an average of 6% in the first year (Colchero et al., BMJ, 2016), and by 9.7% in 2015, with the largest falls in the poorest households (Colchero et al., Health Affairs, 2017). A later review by INSP researchers estimated purchases of sugary drinks fell 7.6% and of taxed high-calorie snack foods 7.4%, and modelled that this could prevent 189,000 cases of diabetes and 20,000 cardiovascular deaths (Barrientos-Gutiérrez et al., 2018). The rate was MX$1.64 a litre in 2025 (Expansión). A reform published on 7 November 2025 set it at MX$3.0818 a litre from 2026 and, for the first time, taxed drinks with non-caloric sweeteners at MX$1.50 a litre (IEPS law).

Other rules followed. Black octagon warning labels (for example, “excess sugars”) came with a change to food-labelling standard NOM-051, published in the Official Gazette on 27 March 2020 (DOF). Education and health ministries published school food guidelines on 30 September 2024, banning the sale of products carrying warning labels in schools from 29 March 2025. A survey of 10,000 schools had found 98% sold junk food (Expansión). On tobacco, the 2008 tobacco control law made enclosed public places and workplaces 100% smoke-free (LGCT). A constitutional reform published on 17 January 2025 banned e-cigarettes and vapes (El Imparcial), and a health law reform in force from 16 January 2026 bans their production, import, distribution and sale (El Imparcial).

Recent cases

  • 18 September 2026: INEGI’s preliminary figures for January to March 2026 counted 207,599 deaths. Heart disease caused 49,252, diabetes 30,779 and cancer 24,095 (INEGI).
  • 7 August 2026: INEGI published preliminary 2025 figures: 762,494 registered deaths, 57,178 fewer than in 2024. Heart disease (177,673), diabetes (106,874) and cancer (92,006) remained the top three causes (INEGI).
  • 16 January 2026: A reform of the General Health Law banning the production, import, distribution and sale of vapes and e-cigarettes came into force, a day after publication in the Official Gazette (El Imparcial). The Senate had passed it by 76 votes to 36; selling or transporting vapes carries one to eight years in prison, but personal use is not an offence (Expansión).

Press releases and official reports, 2023–2026

Five key releases a year for the last four years, newest first. Most come from national bodies such as INEGI, the Ministry of Health, CENAPRED, the National Seismological Service, CONAFOR, the Navy, CONDUSEF and the Official Gazette, from Congress, from international agencies such as PAHO and WHO, and from research journals. Key events, especially in earlier years where official archives are missing, come from Mexican news outlets such as La Jornada, El Universal, Excélsior, El Financiero, Animal Político and Mexico News Daily. Headlines are our English translations of the Spanish originals. Releases from 2007–2022 are in the expandable list after 2023.

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View 20 years of major Mexican chronic disease press releases (2007–2026)55 more from 2007–2022, up to five a year, newest first

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Many years list fewer than five items, and some have none yet. Several official archives (parts of gob.mx, the Official Gazette and older agency pages) could not be opened when we compiled this list, and we only list items we could open and check. We are still adding to these lists. Where a page shows no date, the date comes from the publisher’s own index; annual reports with no printed date are listed under the year they were released.

Photo list

A black octagon 'Exceso en azúcares' (excess sugars) warning seal
An ‘Exceso en azúcares’ (excess sugars) warning seal. Mexico has used this style of black octagon on packaged food and drinks since 2020; this image is Argentina’s version. Photo: ANMAT (Argentina) via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.
A bottle of tamarind-flavoured Jarritos soft drink
File photo: a bottle of tamarind-flavoured soft drink served in Mexico, March 2026. Sugary drinks have carried an excise tax since 2014. Photo: ProtoplasmaKid via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0.

Related on ROR Labs

How this page is built. Figures come from the official statistical releases and research linked above; where agencies publish provisional numbers we say so, because they are revised. National death data come from INEGI’s death registrations, which are finalised the year after; preliminary figures are labelled. Some figures come from news reports quoting officials, and we name the outlet. Money is given in Mexican pesos (MX$). Headlines and quotes are our translations from Spanish. Photos are public-domain or Creative Commons images credited in each caption; file photos are illustrative and are not from the events described unless the caption says so. This page tracks trends and is not personal safety, medical, legal or financial advice.