British people getting healthier

Main Category: Stroke
Article Date: 30 Sep 2003 - 0:00 PST

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Britain may no longer be the 'sick man' of Europe, a report from the Office of Health Economics suggests.

Their figures show deaths from heart disease, stroke, and some cancers dropped sharply between 1990 and 1999.

If the trend has continued British survival rates may now be better than France, which traditionally tops health league tables, researchers said.

Health Secretary John Reid described the figures as encouraging but said more needs to be done.

Fewer deaths

According to the Office of Health Economics, an independent research group, death rates from some of the major diseases are falling much faster in the UK compared to the rest of Europe and the United States.

However, the UK has had some of the highest death rates for heart disease, stroke and cancer to begin with.

Nevertheless, these latest figures show that there was a 14% reduction in death rates in England and Wales during the 1990s.

In 2000, there were 835 deaths for every 100,000 people.

In Scotland, which has traditionally had a much poorer health record, there were 1,014 deaths for every 100,000 people.

In Northern Ireland, the figure was 898 deaths per 100,000.

The report shows that deaths from heart disease fell by 36% for men and 40% for women between 1990 and 1999.

There was also progress in tackling lung cancer, particularly among men.

Deaths due to lung cancer fell by 28% for men during the period and 6% for women.

There are also fewer deaths from breast cancer, down 24% in England and Wales. However, Scotland and Northern Ireland are slightly behind, with falls of 15% and 18% respectively.

The number of people dying from stroke has also fallen. In England and Wales, it has dropped by 30%. In Scotland, it has fallen by 35% while Northern Ireland has seen a 15% fall.

Lifestyle changes

Professor Sir Charles George, medical director of the British Heart Foundation, welcomed the figures.

But he warned that Britons will have to change the way they live if further falls are to be achieved.

'One of the main reasons we have seen mortality decrease is because medical treatments have advanced.

'However, we all need to make healthy lifestyle choices if we want to see this trend continue.'

Health Secretary John Reid said: 'These figures are very encouraging but we must not be complacent.

'It's good to see the hard work of staff in the NHS is being recognised but there's still a long way to go and no one should allow these figures to conceal the scale of the challenge we still face in improving the lives of the nation.'

Shadow health secretary Liam Fox said: 'Everyone will be relieved that mortality rates are continuing to fall. This is due largely to advances in medical science.'

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