In Italy, As in the rest of the world, the vast majority of deaths is due to non -transmissible diseasesThat is, not caused by viruses or bacteria: we are talking about conditions such as heart disease, strokes, tumors, diabetes and chronic respiratory diseases. When it comes to causes of deaththe speech may seem a little gloomy but knowing what exposes us to the greatest risks is the first step to live better and longer. According to theWorld Health Organizationthese pathologies are responsible for about 71% of global deaths. The panorama of the causes of death varies very much among the two sex and among the different age.
In Italy, thanks to the improvements in medicine and the consequent aging of the population, the scenario of the causes of death is changing. The infectious diseases I am always less widespreadespecially in comparison with less developed contexts, while chronic pathologies related to aging grow. Let’s see the most common causes of death according to the data of an Istat report of 2022.
What are the main causes of death in Italy: the ranking
In the graph below, we reported the 8 main causes of death In Italy in 2022, unfortunately the most recent year for which we have complete and reliable data.
Al first place we find the Circulatory system diseasesresponsible for the sunshine of 31% of deaths. This category includes, among others, theinfarctionthestroketheheart failure and thearterial hypertension. Thus, the title of “number one killer” of the Italians is gained, given the high presence of elderly in our country. In second place are i tumorswhich represent about the 25% of the deathswith a prevalence of those al lung. The third place still appears COVID-19That in 2022 He continued to have a significant impact on mortality, even if it is destined to lose relevance in the most recent data.
The diseases of the respiratory systemthe Endocrine diseasesnutritional and metabolic – a category in which for example the diabetes – and then the nervous system diseaseslike Alzheimer And Parkinson’s. Diseases that until a few years ago would not have entered this ranking for the scarce number of subjects who managed to achieve ages so advanced as to develop them frequently.
The great protagonist, however, remains the heart health: a fact that should make us reflect, because signals such as a high pressure or out of control cholesterol, often underestimated, can really make a difference over time. Preventing is – literally – a matter of life or death.
But be careful: this general picture varied quite a lot if we look at the different age groups or al sex.
The risks according to age and the importance of prevention
The causes of death are in fact very specific. To understand them better, we divided the population into five groups: theinfantile age (0 years), that pediatric And adolescent (from 1 to 14 years), that youth (15-44), the age adult (45-74) and finally that elderly (75 years and over). Each phase of life has its fragility and its prevailing risks. In the graph we see with a little more detail, how to die in Italy according to age – And we will find that some differences are not as intuitive as one might think.
In the first year of life, two thirds of deaths are caused by developed diseases among the last weeks of pregnancy and first moments life after childbirth. Between 1 and 14 years, there is no equally evident predominant reason, but unfortunately they are tumors to be the most common cause of death. In particular, luecemias represent the number one enemy in these young ages.
Between 15 and 44 years old are the lifestyles and risk behaviors that cause the greatest number of deaths. The so -called external causes in particular include the Road accidentsi suicides and the violent deaths. Men weigh on this figure, among which the external causes represent almost 40% of deaths, while the figure drops to 17% among women. By narrowing the analysis to the female population, the most common cause of death are still tumors, in particular in the breast and thyroid.
By advancing age, they return to be the tumors The most common cause of death for the entire population, but somehow are still linked to lifestyles. In fact, between 44 and 75 years old, the most frequent lethal cancer is the lungs, caused in large part of the vice of smoking. Following the breast cancer (for women) and the tumor to the prostate (for men).
Finally, in the elderly age, the most dangerous and often more underestimated and often most underestimated problems are the problems. The Circulatory system diseases they are the first cause of death, but they affect men and women in a somewhat different way: the men they tend to be victims of more acute events, such as the heart attack, while the women, who live longer, they confront each other more often with chronic disorders It is silent, such as heart failure or hypertension. And it will never be enough, to remember, at all ages, how important prevention and early diagnosis is.
