Study cancer costs the EU 126 billion

New study: Cancer costs the European Union 126 billion euros

14/10/2013

A new British study has yielded interesting results. The 27 EU Member States have to spend € 126 billion a year on cancer costs and their consequences. The study covered the burden on healthcare systems and the resulting damage to the economy. These results were published in the latest edition of the journal "The Lancet". The researchers used information from 150 different sources for their research. Due to the lack of up-to-date data, the results are based on data from 2009. Later figures were not available.

The researchers were not just concerned with the direct costs of cancer, which put a strain on the healthcare system. The focus was also on the costs of leaving the workplace of the economy due to the absence of caregivers' relatives. So the researchers came to 51 billion euros in costs incurred directly in the health system. About 60 percent are to be counted as economic effects, for example by premature departure of the affected from the working life or by consequence effects with relatives.

Up to three billion hours of nursing per year
Also of interest is the result of three billion hours of nursing care, which the relatives spend each year on nursing and care. Within the EU states, spending varies greatly. The average value was 102 euros per inhabitant of the European Union. For Germany, 171 euros / year were determined per citizen. In Romania, they came to 52 euros. (Fr)

Picture: Rainer Sturm