While the world is still reeling from the coronavirus pandemic, many other common causes of death are playing their roles as killers in Germany. Of course, some diseases are well known for causing high death rates worldwide; there are a few that may come as a surprise to Germany. Today from your favorite, The Daily Top 10, we will explore the Top 10 Leading Causes of Death in Germany.
Accordingly, the number of leading risk factors that cause a series of deaths in Germany is changing over time. It may differ every year associated with the underlying cause of each mortality.
High-Risk Factors that Cause Death in Germany
As a high-income country, Germany spends more on its health issues than most other European countries and provides its people with universal coverage with a broad benefits package. Following a recent survey carried out by the World Health Organisation (WHO), our team has compiled a list of the top 10 leading causes of death in Germany.
In this article, we expand on each of the leading causes of death and provide links to more detailed information on each condition. We also rank the causes according to the number of deaths per condition and their percentage share of Germany’s overall registered death count.
Therefore, don’t miss to check our list of Germany’s top 10 significant health issues in detail and add something new to your mind.
TOP 10: Suicide
Since 2019 suicide mortality rate has been vastly bumped up in Germany, especially due to the COVID-19 pandemic situation. The impact of COVID situations, such as; social distancing, financial crises, loss of employment, anxiety, and depression, are still alive in German society, which continuously causes suicidal attempts in 2022 as well.
According to the rates indicated in World Life Expectancy, it was 8.27, and they also named suicide as a major cause in their Top 50 leading causes of death in Germany. With all that, it takes 10th place on our list.
TOP 9: Lower Respiratory Infections
One of the most deadly communicable diseases in Germany was lower respiratory infections. Lower respiratory infections have increased the death rate since the COVID-19 pandemic and are a common cause of death in Germany every year. Compared to the past few years, the mortality rate has decreased considerably, according to DESTATIS.
TOP 8: Diabetes
In recent times, diabetes has become a rising cause of death in Germany. Statista says that Germany has the second highest number of diabetes-related mortality in Europe. For that reason, we included it as the 8th leading cause of death, and the number of deaths from this disease has nearly doubled since 2021.
TOP 7: Kidney Disease
The frequency of end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) is 950 patients (per million population). A survey-based study in Academic reported that 2.3% of the German public 18–79 years of age have an approximate glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) <60 mL/min/1.73 m2; A vast majority of mortality from kidney diseases (93%) as well as passing from kidney cancer (77%) concerned people aged 65 or above.
TOP 6: Hypertension
Hypertension is a major risk factor for stroke and cardiovascular diseases. It is also one of the most frequent causes of death in adults. In its latest survey, GEDA has examined self-reported physician-diagnosed hypertension in nearly one in three adults in German society. High blood pressure accounted for 26% of the total deaths in Germany. Therefore, hypertension is a deadly risk factor for preventable deaths in Germany.
TOP 5: Breast Cancer
Breast Cancer is the most common disease in developing and high-income countries. In Germany, it is currently recommended that women younger than 50 and older than 70 years of age are at individual risk of breast cancer.
Even though the German government has taken several measures to prevent breast cancer, 2.69% of people die due to this cause of death annually. European Society for Medical Oncology has held a hybrid meeting to raise breast cancer awareness in Berlin, Germany, on 3-5 May, 2022.
TOP 4: Stroke and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
According to the research done by Pubmed, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is currently the fourth leading cause of death in the world, and it holds the top 4th place in our top 10 list of leading causes of death in Germany. Also, according to the statistics and rankings of the World Life Expectancy website, 7.11% of German people die annually due to stroke and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases.
TOP 3: Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia
Alzheimer’s Disease and other forms of Dementia ranked as the 3rd out of the top 10 leading causes of death in Germany in The Daily Top 10. Women are immensely affected by Alzheimer’s disease, and ALZ indicates that beyond 1.5 million people are living with Alzheimer’s in Germany. Annually, a huge number of deaths occur from Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia; unfortunately, the majority of the percentage are women.
TOP 2: Smoking-Specific Illnesses
Smoking and tobacco usage are still extensive in the German adult population. Germany faces tremendous social costs every year due to smoking-specific illnesses such as; lung, bronchial, laryngeal, or tracheal cancer and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).
Compared to the past 10 years, the number of female deaths due to lung and bronchial cancer will be significantly high in Germany in 2022. The German government has taken steps forward to speed up tobacco and smoking consumption in German society by implementing a smoking cessation and tobacco control policy.
TOP 1: Coronary Heart Disease
Germany’s biggest killer is Coronary Heart Disease. As it is responsible for the largest increase in deaths, we ranked it as top number 1 among our Top 10. Even though Coronary Heart Disease is a non-communicable (chronic) disease, the death rate has heightened for the first time in 2015 following a steady decline of 20 years.
According to the WHO’s latest data published in World Life Expectancy, Germany reached 20.98% of total deaths. Consequently, two-thirds of heart disease mortality is recorded, and a vast number of cardiovascular hospital diagnoses are found. Still, coronary heart disease continues to be a challenging risk factor in the health of the German population. NOVARTIS, with 338,000 deaths per year, cardiovascular diseases remain the number one cause of death in Germany.
What is the Leading Cause of Death in Germany?
Most importantly, 9 out of the 10 leading causes of death in Germany are non-communicable diseases, and these top 10 diseases remain a significant challenge in the mortality rate of Germany. So still, there is a need to take effective measures to prevent the German population from all these deadly causes.
For your awareness, here is a recap of the Top 10 Leading Causes of Death in Germany listed:
- Coronary Heart Disease
- Smoking-Specific Illnesses
- Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia
- Stroke and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
- Breast Cancer
- Hypertension
- Kidney Disease
- Diabetes
- Lower Respiratory Infections
- Suicide
It’s not all doom and gloom, though, as the life sciences always strive to make medical advances to find cures for these deadly diseases. However, this is about Germany, but if you are still curious to know the exact causes regarding the US, we shared with you the Top 10 Leading Causes of Death in the USA. And don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter to explore the world’s Top 10 best of everything with a single click.
Author: Jera A.
Jera A. is an empowered woman, a dedicated student leader, and an academic commissioner. She recently focused on exploring more of her skills while also learning new things to help herself blossom. She believes that anyone, from anywhere, can make a difference.
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