Health of Berliners with social gaps

Average age of Berlin is increasing, as well as the need for care

09/11/2011

In Berlin, the Health Senate Administration has presented the Health Report 2010/11 to the public. As reported by the Senator for Health, Environment and Consumer Protection in Berlin, Katrin Lompscher (The Left) on Tuesday, the population of the capital has continued to grow and health relatively well. However, there is a clear difference between the poorer and richer parts of the city.

The Health Report 2010/11 shows a clear social gap in the health status of the population, with „in districts with unfavorable social conditions also the lowest life expectancy“ This, said health senator Lompscher. In addition, due to the aging of the population, the number of people in need of care has increased significantly, according to another key message from the health report. Here, too, the social structure of the districts plays a not insignificant role.

Birth surplus and rising life expectancy in Berlin
Overall, Berlin's population increased by around 18,000 to 3,460,725 by the end of 2010. In Berlin - in contrast to the federal trend - the number of births is higher than the number of deaths. 33,393 children saw the light of day in Berlin in 2010 and 32,234 people died in the same period, reported the health senator and was pleased about the renewed birth surplus. According to Katrin Lompscher, average life expectancy has also continued to rise over the past year. According to the health report, women in Berlin achieved an average age of 82 in 2010. For men, the average life expectancy was 77 years. However, the life expectancy of a clear social gradient depends on the districts determine, so the statement of the Health Senator. According to the study, people in the district Steglitz-Zehlendorf and Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf are on average the oldest, while in Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg the average life expectancy is lowest.

Nursing needs have been rising for years
With the rising average age of the Berlin population, according to the health report, the number of people requiring care in the capital has been increasing for years. The number of women in care has risen by 20 percent since 1999, and the need for care among men has even increased by 39 percent, reports health senator Lompscher. Overall, 3.9 percent of women, or 69,000 female patients and 1.9 percent of men or 32,300 male patients are in need of care today in Berlin. When looking at care levels that reflect the care required, the health report shows that more than half of those in need of care are in Care Level I, around one third of care level II, and around eleven percent as severely dependent persons in Care Level III. Even the most in need of care, the majority still cared for at home, the statement in the health report. Almost half of the women and more than two-thirds of the men with care level III are still living at home, explained the health senator. The spokeswoman for the Health Senate Administration, Sabine Hermann, added that in Berlin, women are dependent on an average of 2.2 years of their total life, and the men are almost four years old.

Data of the Kassenärztliche Vereinigung Berlin for the spread of diseases
In order to gain a comprehensive overview of the state of health of the population, this year's Health Report included for the first time also the billing data of the KV Berlin, if only from the year 2007. With the help of the obtained data, the Health Senate Administration wants not only the Disease spectrum of Berlin exactly present, but also allow an optimization of the supply planning. Divided by the types of diagnosis, the data of the KV Berlin shows that back pain, hypertension and vision defects form the most common health complaints of Berlin. In particular, the high prevalence of hypertension is possibly the direct result of city life, because already in May 2010, scientists from the University of Duisburg-Essen at a symposium of the „American Thoracic Society“ In New Orleans, research results are presented that show a clear correlation between the occurrence of hypertension and the air pollution. According to the researchers, a harmful effect on particulate matter pollution was clearly below the prescribed legal limit values.

Diseases depending on the social structure of the neighborhoods?
The billing data of the Kassenärztliche Vereinigung Berlin also showed that there are clear spatial differences in chronic and acute illnesses. Accordingly, in the east of the capital, type II diabetes treatments, contraceptions and preventive services such as vaccinations were particularly frequently accounted for, while in West Berlin more mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety disorders were the cause of the treatment. According to the Senator for Health, Environment and Consumer Protection, the latest health report also highlights the link between the occurrence of certain diseases and the social environment. In particular, diseases that are directly related to lifestyle through diet, physical activity and mental constitution, such as diabetes, obesity, also known as smoker's cough, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or back pain, are inferior in the neighborhoods Social structure relatively widespread, said the Health Senator. The health report also found again that many Berlin bring too many kilograms on the scales. At 46 percent, almost every second Berliner suffers from being overweight, putting the capital in Germany behind Hamburg in second place among the thickest in Germany. Here, too, there were significant differences between the districts, although the social structure played no comparable role as in the case of illnesses and life expectancy. (Fp)

Picture: Rolf Handke