Circulatory diseases main cause of death for over-65s

For the older EU28 population, those aged 65 years and over, circulatory diseases and neoplasms were by far the most prevalent causes of death in 2010, with 1,931 deaths and 1,075 deaths respectively per 100,000 inhabitants of this age group.

Respiratory diseases (378 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants), digestive diseases (177), diseases of the nervous system (154) and deaths due to external causes (125) were the other main causes of death for this age group. For all main causes, the standardised death rates for older men in the EU28 were higher than for older women.

For the total EU28 population, the order of the main causes of death was similar to the older population, while for the EU28 population aged less than 65 years neoplasms (86 deaths per 100 000 inhabitants of this age group) was the most common cause of death, followed by circulatory diseases (52) and external causes (30).

This information is published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. The standardised death rates presented in this release take into account the latest census results and are calculated based on the newly defined standard population² and are available for more detailed causes of death.

Death caused by heart infarction occurred more often among older men in the EU28 than among older women (338 deaths per 100,000 men aged 65 and over and 188 deaths per 100,000 women aged 65 and over). Death rates due to heart infarction also varied significantly between the Member States in 2010, with the highest rates for older men in Romania (618 deaths per 100,000 men) and Finland (595) and for older women in Malta (455 per 100 000 women) and Romania (412). The lowest rates for both older men and women were registered in France (168 for men and 85 for women) and Spain (258 for men and 138 for women).

Cancer: lowest death rates in Bulgaria and Cyprus

In the EU28, the death rate for older men due to cancer in 2010 was almost twice as high as for women (1 456 deaths per 100,000 men aged 65 and over and 764 deaths per 100,000 women aged 65 and over). Among the Member States, the death rates due to cancer were highest for men in Estonia (1,937), Croatia (1,933) and Slovenia (1,878) and for women in Denmark (1,053 in 2009), Ireland (966) and Slovenia (954). For both men and women, the lowest rates occurred in Bulgaria (1,069 for men and 532 for women) and Cyprus (1,098 for men and 590 for women).

The most prevalent cancer leading to death for older men in the EU28 was lung cancer (348 deaths per 100,000 men) in 2010, while for older women it was breast cancer (112 deaths per 100,000 women).

Melanoma: lowest death rates in Greece and Romania

As for the other causes of death in the EU28, the death rate for older men in 2010 due to melanoma of skin (15 deaths per 100,000 men aged 65 and over) were higher than for women (8 deaths per 100 000 women aged 65 and over). In the Member States, the rates for older men were highest in Croatia (28), Slovenia, Slovakia and Sweden (all 26) and for older women in Slovenia (16), Ireland, Croatia, Latvia and Slovakia (all 14). For both men and women, the lowest rates occurred in Greece (6 for men and 5 for women) and Romania (6 for men and 4 for women).

Suicide: higher death rates for older men than for older women in all Member States

Suicide was a less common cause of death among older men and women in the EU28, with a rate of 31 deaths per 100 000 men and 8 deaths per 100,000 women. There were considerable differences between the Member States, however, it should be noted that difficulties of investigation and cultural differences may affect the data for this cause of death.