Heart disease kills fewer but dementia rises

Fewer people are dying in Switzerland of heart disease but considerably more are succumbing to dementia, according to figures released on Tuesday.

Cancer deaths have risen slightly as well, according to the Federal Statistics Office.

In a statement, the Statistics Office said heart disease remained the number one killer followed by cancer.

In 2008, the most recent data available, 22,231 people died in Switzerland from heart and cardiovascular diseases. That is 36 per cent of all deaths, down from 41 per cent ten years ago.

Cancer claimed 15,953 people in 2008 – 26 per cent of all deaths that year or 800 more than in 1998.

But the population also grew during that time, meaning the actual rate of cancer deaths per 100,000 inhabitants dropped, from 162 in 1998 to 142 in 2008. Nineteen per cent of those who died of the disease had lung cancer, the largest group.

Illnesses related to dementia killed about 4,300 people, almost twice as many as in 1998. Researchers believe the leap is related to doctors performing more tests to detect dementia as well as a population that is living longer.

Traffic accidents are claiming fewer lives than a decade ago (down 40 per cent). Aids deaths have plummeted 70 per cent thanks to better medicines.

The Statistics Office says about 60,000 people die every year in Switzerland and researchers expect that number to grow by an additional 25,000 people in the next 15 years.

swissinfo.ch and agencies