40% of deaths in 2016 were avoidable

Almost 40% of all deaths that took place in Malta in 2016 were avoidable, according to statics published by Eurostat on Thursday.

Avoidable deaths are defined as those which could have been prevented through effective public healthcare and primary prevention, aimed at preventing disease or injury before they occur.

Malta had the second-lowest rate of avoidable deaths in the EU in 2016.

The statistics also show that Malta had the fourth-highest share of treatable deaths with 30% of deaths in Malta being classified as such.

Treatable deaths are defined by Eurostat as those that were potentially treatable through timely and effective healthcare intervention, like secondary prevention, which includes regular exams and screening tests to detect diseases in their earliest stages.

Some 1.7 million persons aged 75 or under died in the EU during 2016. 70% of these deaths, equivalent to 1.2 million, were categorized as premature. Among them, 741,000 were preventable deaths that could have been avoided through effective public health and primary prevention interventions.

Across the EU, 174,000 persons died from heart attacks, 168,000 persons died from cancers of the trachea, bronchus and lung and 87,000 persons died from strokes. These figures make up 37% of the total avoidable cause of death of people 75 or younger.  

When compared to 2011, avoidable death, as a percentage of total deaths has decreased by 1.7% from 68.7%.