Istat, mortality rate falls for all causes except respiratory and infectious diseases
ISTAT data take a snapshot of the health status of Italians: diseases of the circulatory system and tumours are the main causes of death in Italia. On the other hand, the mortality rate of infectious and respiratory diseases is increasing. Diabetes above the EU average
by Letizia Giostra
Key points
- The leading causes of death in Italia
- Window on Covid
- High mortality rate from respiratory and infectious diseases
- Declining mortality rate for cardiovascular diseases and cancer
- Higher mortality rate than pre-pandemic in the south and islands
- Italy below EU average for many diseases, but not for diabetes
The mortality rate in Italia increases for infectious diseases (+3.3%), which continue the upward trend recorded since 2020. They are followed by respiratory diseases, which record an increase for the second year running, mainly affecting the over 65 (+3.1%). These are the only diagnoses that are on the rise, as the frequency of deaths in the other diseases shows a decline.
This is what emerges from the latest report from the Istat for 2023, a year in which 666,131 deaths occurred, almost 56,000 fewer than in 2022 (-8%). Although male mortality surpasses that of women, a gradual narrowing of the gender gap, which had previously increased due to the effects of the pandemic (which predominantly affected men), was observed.
The leading causes of death in Italia
Diseases of the circulatory system and cancer are the main causes of death in Italy, accounting for 206,119 and 175,147 deaths respectively, which together account for 57% of the total. While among women the causes of death from cardiovascular problems have a greater impact than cancer, for men it is the exact opposite (30% versus 28% for circulatory diseases).
This is followed by diseases of the respiratory system and dementias - such as Alzheimer's - responsible for 8% and 5% of deaths respectively. It is mainly women who die from dementia, accounting for 7% compared to 3% of men. Shifting our gaze to other types of causes of death, the most notable changes concern diseases of the genito-urinary system (+34%) and infectious diseases (+24%). A smaller growth concerns diabetes (+7.5%) and diseases of the digestive system (+3.7%).
Window on Covid
In 2023, there was a marked decline in mortality due to Covid-19: deaths fell by -69% in a single year. At the same time, there was a 4.4% increase in deaths due to diseases otherwise related to the respiratory system, while infectious diseases were up 4.8%. The death rate from Covid-19, which was the third leading cause of death in the years 2020 to 2022, is reduced by more than 70 per cent.
