These are the most common reasons for Hungary’s high mortality rate

As far as preventable diseases are concerned, Hungary is on the top of the “death list” among the EU countries. Even though Hungary spent more on disease prevention than the EU average, the situation is still critical concerning preventable deaths. But what is the reason behind?

On average in the EU, public and private spending on disease prevention accounted for 2.8% of total health expenditure in 2018, with the highest proportions in Italy (4.4%) and Finland (4.0%), according to Eurostat. The share of prevention expenditure was lowest in Slovakia (0.8% of total health expenditure), followed by Greece, Cyprus and Malta (1.3% each) and Romania (1.4%).

Compared to the size of the population, expenditure on preventive care was highest in Sweden (€ 165 / inhabitant), Finland (€ 152), Germany (€ 148) and the Netherlands (€ 146) in 2018, while the lowest was in Romania and Slovakia (€ 8 per inhabitant).

One year earlier, Hungary led the EU death toll in terms of preventable diseases.

According to Eurostat data, in 201,7 Hungary had the highest number of deaths per 100,000 inhabitants among preventable deaths and diseases among those under 75 years of age. There were more than 300 such deaths per 100,000 inhabitants in the year that put us even ahead of Romania on the EU list.

As the Hungarian news portal Pénzcentrum reports,

cardiovascular diseases are the leading causes of death in Hungary, where the number of patients and deaths from such diseases is remarkably high compared to other EU countries.

There can be up to 4,000 patients a month who die from cardiovascular disease. Furthermore, 30-35% of the population suffer from high blood pressure, which is also a significant proportion compared to other European countries. To avoid such diseases, prevention plays an important role.

Smoking, which is popular with the majority of Hungarians, generates severe problems in the blood vessels and the arteries and leads to significant cardiovascular diseases. Therefore, it is also responsible for developing slow coronary occlusion and sudden and life-threatening myocardial infarction.

“In Hungary, approximately 50% of the mortality is caused by cardiovascular disease. According to the Central Statistical Office, in 2018, more than 26,000 people died from coronary heart disease, more than 5,800 from acute myocardial infarction, and more than 11,000 from stroke. This means that approx. 3600-4000 people lose their lives due to circulatory diseases” – commented Dr Zoltán Járai, President of the Hungarian Hypertension Society previously, adding that hypertension is also among the most frequent causes of death in Hungary. According to the 2019 survey of the European Society of Cardiology, Hungary was among the most affected countries in Europe.

During these periods of COVID-19, prevention is given even more emphasis. In order to realise this, the Hungarian government encourages the population to register for the vaccine, which is supported by more and more Hungarian celebrities. As we reported earlier, registration for the vaccine is voluntary and free of charge that can be completed at vakcinainfo.gov.hu.

Read alsoHungarian research finds clear correlation between lockdown, falling death rate

Source: penzcentrum.hu