The most common cause of death is heart disease

Cardiovascular diseases most common cause of death in Germany

06.12.2012

Around 850,000 deaths occurred in Germany in 2011, with diseases of the cardiovascular system by far the most common cause of death, according to the latest press release of the Federal Statistical Office in Wiesbaden. Overall, deaths fell slightly year-on-year (by 0.7 percent).

Cancer was the second most common cause of death in 2011 after cardiovascular disease, but respiratory and digestive diseases also accounted for a significant proportion of total deaths. Nearly four percent of deaths were attributable to a non-natural cause of death such as poisoning or injury, reports the Federal Statistical Office.

40 percent of deaths from cardiovascular disease
The 852,328 deaths in 2011 were roughly equally distributed between male and female sex (47.8 percent men, 52.2 percent women), but more gender-specific differences are found when looking at individual causes of death. Significantly more women than men died from general circulatory diseases, while men themselves suffered a fatal heart attack more frequently and died an unnatural death much more often. Of the 342,233 people (40.2 percent of total deaths) who died of cardiovascular disease in 2011, according to the Federal Statistical Office, 92 percent were over the age of 65. A fatal heart attack suffered according to the latest figures, 55,286 people. Although cardiovascular diseases continue to be the leading cause of death in Germany, their total number has declined by 0.9 percent year-on-year. Cardiovascular disease is generally associated with unhealthy lifestyle or physical inactivity, high fat / high sugar diet and obesity. Their decline could also point to a healthier lifestyle of the population.

Cancers second leading cause of death
Cancers have taken a steadily growing share of total deaths in recent decades. In 2011, they were the second most frequent cause of death, with 221,591 people affected, corresponding to 26 percent of total deaths. 119,755 men and 101,836 women succumbed to cancer in 2011. Men were mainly affected by malignant tumors of the digestive and respiratory tracts, while breast cancer was the most common single diagnosis among women. However, women also often died as a result of malignant tumors of the digestive organs. Overall, the number of cancer deaths in the total deaths, according to the figures of the Federal Statistical Office, rose slightly in the past year.

Unnatural causes of death more common in men
Of the 32,988 unnatural deaths, according to official sources, 31 percent were due to suicide. 10,144 people took their lives in 2011, with the proportion of men at 75.4 percent, about three times as high as the proportion of women (24.6 percent), reports the Federal Statistical Office. Falls also accounted for a sizeable proportion (29.5 percent) of unnatural deaths. Here, however, women were slightly more affected than men. The total number of fatal falls has increased in recent years by a worrying 35.8 percent (+ 2,562 deaths) to a total of 9,722, according to the Federal Statistical Office. The unnatural cause of death includes transport accidents, which account for only 13 percent of deaths in this area. Here men were affected much more frequently than women (74.2 percent men, 25.8 percent women). (Fp)

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The most common causes of death in Germany
Heart attack and cancer are the leading causes of death