Official statistics shared by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) on Thursday revealed that circulatory diseases were the leading cause of death in the country in 2022, while the number of deaths posted a decline compared to the data a year earlier.
Looking upon the scrutinized data, 35.4% of causes of death were classified as originating from the circulatory system, according to TurkStat, while it was followed by neoplasms with 15.2% and diseases of the respiratory system with 13.5%.
Cardiovascular diseases that are mostly attributed to an unhealthy lifestyle are the leading cause of death worldwide. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more people die annually due to it than from any other cause.
Meanwhile, according to TurkStat's data, the number of deaths stood at 504,839 in 2022 which is 10.9% less than the figure from 2021, when 566,485 individuals lost their lives.
In 2022 males constituted 54.6% of the deceased in Türkiye, TurkStat revealed.
When the deaths caused by diseases of the circulatory system were analyzed, it was revealed 42.3% of deaths were caused by ischaemic heart diseases followed by deaths from other heart diseases at 23.5% and deaths from cerebrovascular diseases at 19.2%.
Statistics also determined that the city with the highest rate of the diseases in question was northwestern Çanakkale with 47%, followed by Kırşehir at 46.4% and Balıkesir at 44%.
The proportion of deaths from diseases of the circulatory system, was the lowest in Kilis with 25.5%. This province was followed by Ağrı with 27.5%, Istanbul with 28.8% and Van with 29.8%.
Upon analyzing the detailed data on neoplasms, the second-leading cause of death, it was found that deaths from malignant neoplasms of the larynx and trachea/bronchus/lung were most common with 29.4%. They were followed by malignant neoplasms of the colon at 7.9% and deaths from malignant neoplasms of the stomach at 7.8%.
The mortality rate or the crude death rate, which reflects the number of deaths per thousand people, decreased thus from 6.7 per thousand in 2021 to 5.9 per thousand in 2022, TurkStat figures highlighted.
Türkiye stood behind European Union countries in terms of the crude death rate. In the EU, the rate was estimated at 11.8 in 2021 (0.2 more than in 2020), according to official Eurostat data.
TurkStat releases causes of death statistics, which are essential for evaluating public health, compiled and coded in accordance with WHO rules, once a year, with the next report due in June 2024.
