Cancer Takes Over CVD As Main Killer in 12 Western European Countries

15 Aug 2016 --- New data published today shows that cancer has overtaken cardiovascular disease as the main killer in 12 western European countries. Despite cancer accounting for less than half the number of deaths than CVD in Europe as a whole, in 9 countries, more men now die from cancer than CVD, with more women dying of cancer in 2 further European countries.

However, success in preventing and treating CVD has led to large decreases in the disease, resulting in cancer overtaking as number one killer in these countries.

The countries where cancer has overtaken CVD as the main killer are Belgium, Denmark, France, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, the UK, Denmark and Israel - all located in western Europe.

Dr Nick Townsend, senior researcher at the BHF Centre on Population Approaches for Non-Communicable Disease Prevention at the University of Oxford (UK), who led the research, said: “These figures highlight the wide inequalities between European countries in deaths from CVD. The 12 countries in which cancer has overtaken CVD as the main cause of death are all found in Western Europe, with nine of them having been members of the EU before 2004. The highest numbers of deaths from CVD tend to be seen in Eastern European countries.”

Commenting on why the data shows such differences between western and eastern European countries, Townsend told NutritionInsight: “Although our work did not look at that, previous work we and others have done has found that Eastern European countries suffer a greater burden from behavioral risk factors associated with CVD, in particular higher levels of hazardous alcohol consumption, higher smoking rates, poor diet etc.; along with less efficient health services.” 

Townsend continued, “For example, a number of organizations have attempted to rank national healthcare systems, such as the WHO and the Health Consumer Powerhouse, and in these Eastern European countries are generally ranked towards the bottom. In addition to these relatively poorly performing health services, there are also thought to be greater, and in some cases rising, social inequality within these Eastern European countries.”

Townsend also believes that recent changes in population behavior in some countries, has more of a positive impact on preventing CVD than cancer.

“Although a number of cancers share similar risk factors to CVD, such as alcohol, smoking, diet and physical inactivity; research has suggested that we can have a greater impact on preventing CVD through modifying these behaviors than with cancer.”

Townsend explains: “For example, a greater percentage of CVD events are preventable if we modify the population’s behavior. That means that population health interventions to improve levels of risk factors in populations, such as decreasing smoking rates (taxes, plain packaging, restricted sales, indoor smoking bans etc.) and improve diet and physical activity levels will have a greater impact on CVD at the population level than on cancer.”

Commenting on future studies, Townsend hopes to investigate trends in CVD and cancer by subtype within countries and regions, attempting to explain some of these inequalities through health service provision, country inequalities and behavioral risk factors.

by Hannah Gardiner