More than a million deaths in the EU could have been prevented
A. C., Unsplash
According to a Eurostat report, there will be 1.1 million premature deaths among people under 75 in the European Union in 2022. These deaths are considered 'avoidable' because they could have been prevented - either through timely and quality treatment or through public health measures. In standardised terms, this corresponds to 257.8 deaths per 100,000 people.
Of the total, 386,710 deaths were categorised as treatable - those that could have been avoided with high quality medical intervention. Of the total, 725,625 were categorised as preventable, i.e. related to inadequate prevention. Separate rates were calculated for each category: 89.7 per 100,000 inhabitants for treatable diseases and 168.1 for preventable diseases.
Among the diseases that most often resulted in curable deaths, ischaemic heart disease topped the list with 77,704 deaths, or 17.9 per 100,000 people. It was followed by colorectal cancer (57,476 deaths, or 13.2 per 100,000) and breast cancer in women (40,970 deaths, or 9.5 per 100,000).
In terms of preventable deaths, lung cancer leads the way with 136,199 deaths, or 31.2 per 100,000. Coronary heart disease comes next, with 77,704 deaths, emphasising its dual nature as both a clinical and preventive problem. In third place is COVID-19 with 71,919 deaths, or 16.6 per 100,000 people.
The indicators vary considerably from country to country. The worst situation was recorded in Latvia, where 543.3 avoidable deaths per 100,000 people were registered. Of these, 200.7 were due to treatable causes and 342.6 to preventable causes. In Romania, the rate was 519.3 per 100,000 (215 curable and 304.3 preventable) and in Hungary 511.8 (178.4 and 333.4 respectively).
The best results were recorded in Sweden with 169.3 cases per 100,000 (59.2 curable and 110.2 avoidable), in Italy with 176.7 (63.5 and 113.3), and in Luxembourg with 180.2 (60.4 and 119.8). Luxembourg is thus among the three EU countries with the lowest proportion of avoidable deaths.
Eurostat emphasises that the fight against premature mortality requires not only medical resources but also effective public policies: limiting smoking, improving nutrition, promoting physical activity and developing screening systems. It is particularly telling that lung cancer remains the leading preventable cause of death in Europe - pointing to gaps in prevention rather than treatment.
