28% increase in deaths from chronic bronchitis in women
Improving their chances: more years ahead for young Swiss as age of death rises
NEUCHATEL, SWITZERLAND – The average age of death is rising in Switzerland: 74.4 for men and 82.1 years for women.
The Swiss Statistical Office’s new figures on mortality for 2009, the most recent calculations, show 15,000 fewer deaths in the under-80 population than in 1970, with 62,476 deaths in 2009. Over age 80 the number of deaths has increased by 2.2, while the population has increased threefold.
Dementia diagnosed more easily and earlier, lung cancer leads cancer deaths
Cardiovascular disease, cancer and dementia are the three main causes of death overall, but dementia as a cause of death is on the rise, as the aging population increases, the figures show.
The number of deaths from dementia as an initial illness has doubled in 10 years and the mortality rate has risen from 20 to 28 deaths per 10,000, a rise explained in part by earlier and better diagnoses, according to the statistical office.
Cardiovascular disease accounted for 36 percent of all deaths, cancer 26 percent and dementia about 7 percent.
Lung cancer accounts for nearly one-fifth of all cancer deaths and it remains by far the most prevalent form of cancer in Switzerland.
Respiratory diseases including chronic bronchitis are the fourth cause of death, with a startling figure: the number of deaths among women from chronic bronchitis rose 28 percent in the past 10 years, while it dropped 12 percent for men.
When a younger population is looked at, the figures show cancer as the leading cause of premature death, followed by accidents, then cardiovascular disease.
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Forty people lost their lives in accidents in 2008 that were linked to public transport: three of them in buses, one in a tram accident and the other 36 in accidents that involved “unauthorized” crossings or inattention at crossings of trains and trams. Switzerland has one of the world’s lowest rates of accidents linked to public transport systems, but the government, in its annual report on public transport safety, notes that more needs to be done to protect crossings.
The figures show a 33 percent increase over 2007 figures, but Bern notes that 2008 figures were lower than those for every year since 2001 except 2007.
