All in all, cancer was the leading cause of death in Israel between the years 2000-2015.
By JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICHUpdated: MAY 22, 2018 23:46A DISPENSING chemist prepares drugs for a chemotherapy treatment in a sterile room at Antoine- Lacassagne Cancer Center in Nice, France, in 2012(photo credit: ERIC GAILLARD/REUTERS)
Cancer was – as it has been since 1999 – the leading cause of death among Israeli men and women in 2015, according to a new Health Ministry report on the leading causes of death between 2000 and 2015.Malignancies are also the main cause of death among women aged 15 to 74 and in men aged 25 and older.Heart disease was the second- leading cause of death in 1999 among men and women; in 2015, it was responsible for 15% of all deaths, which is the most common cause among women aged 75 and older and the second-most common among women aged 45 to 74 and men age 45 and older.Between 2013 and 2015, cerebrovascular disease in the brain (stroke) was the third leading cause of death among women, slightly higher than death from complications of diabetes.Among men, the ranking was reversed, with diabetes complications ranked third and stroke in fourth place.Between 2013 and 2015, accidents were the leading cause of death among males aged 15 to 24, and third most common both from birth to 14 years old and between the ages of 25 and 44.Among females, it was the second most common cause in those aged 15 to 44.During that period as well, suicide was the second leading cause of death among males aged 15 to 44 and the third among women of that age group.In recent years, perinatal medical problems (occurring before or after birth) and congenital malformations have been the leading causes of death from birth to age four, followed by accidents, which together account for about three-quarters of all deaths in that age group.During the past decade, there has been a downward trend in mortality rates for most causes of death, especially heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, accidents and diseases of the lower respiratory system.On the other hand, there was an increase in Alzheimer’s disease, other dementias, sepsis, pneumonia and influenza, as well as pneumonia resulting from accidental inhalation of fluids or solids.The mortality rate adjusted for age is lower in Israel than in the US, Canada and most European countries.Israel has the second lowest overall death rate for men in 23 European countries – only Switzerland has a lower rate – while women are ranked seventh lowest after France, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Luxembourg and Canada.The age-adjusted mortality rate is lower in Israel than in the US, Canada and most European countries for cancer, heart disease, liver disease, Alzheimer’s, accidents and suicide, as well as cerebrovascular disease compared to most European countries.However, the death rate from sepsis is 4.7 higher, kidney disease 2.7 times higher, diabetes complications 2.5 times higher and from high blood pressure 1.9 times higher than in 15 EU countries.
