State of health in Denmark
In
an international perspective, health status in Denmark can generally be characterised
as good. However, over the last 10 to 20 years it has progressed less than other
European coun-tries so that it is no longer among the top few in Europe. However,
life expectancy, an impor-tant indicator, shows that there has been a marked improvement
in the health status during the latter half of the 1990's. Surveys show
that the population continues to consider their own health as good. In a recent
questionnaire survey, in answer to the question about how they perceived their
own health status, 79% answered "very good" or "good", only
5% answered "bad" or "very bad" and 60% of those over 67 years
answered "good" or "very good". With a view to giving
a more comprehensive description of health status in Denmark, the de-velopment
of 3 important indicators will be reviewed below: life expectancy, mortality and
morbidity. Here too, the development in Denmark will be compared with developments
in the other EU countries. Life expectancy
A comparison of the
development of life expectancy in Denmark from 1960 to 1995 with the development
in a number of other countries (see tables 3.1 and 3.2) shows that life expec-tancy
in 1960 was relatively high in Denmark for women as well as for men, where Denmark
had the highest life expectancy. Since then Denmark has lost this leading position.
In 1995 women in all the countries being compared had a higher life expectancy
than Danish women, and only Portuguese and North American men had a shorter life
expectancy than Danish men. However, from 1995 onwards the life expectancy
in Denmark increased at a higher speed than in most other OECD countries. From
1995 to 2000 the Danish life expectancy increased by as much as in the previous
21 years. The Ministry of the Interior and Health has carried out a large
survey in order to reveal the causes of the less favourable developments in Denmark.
The survey concluded that first and foremost it is the health status of women
which is lagging behind. Thus mortality, especially among 35- to 64-year old women,
has been less favourable in Denmark. Middle-aged women in Denmark have a
40 to 50% higher mortality rate in comparison with the other EU countries. Especially
the development in the incidence of cancer amongst women (breast cancer and lung
cancer) gives cause for concern. However, cardiovascular dis-ease and alcohol-related
diseases in women have also contributed to accentuating this devel-opment. The
development of the mortality rate amongst Danish men is parallel with that of
men in other EU countries to a much greater degree. Mortality
The
most important causes of death among men and women in 1980 and 1998, were ischemia
and vascular disorder of the brain. Furthermore, lung cancer is an important cause
of death amongst men, whilst breast cancer was important amongst women in 1980.
In 1998 the inci-dence of lung cancer and breast cancer was about equal Cancer
In
all the EU countries mortality among both men and women as a consequence of cancer
in-creased from 1960 to 1994. For Danish men, the increase is no greater than
in the other west-ern European countries, but for Danish women there is a relatively
greater increase in death due to cancer than in the other European countries.
Breast cancer in women is increasing in all EU countries, but it is highest in
Denmark for the whole period. Cancer in the uterus declined in the period, but
it was still highest in Denmark. Cardiovascular diseases
During
the period 1960 to 1998, there was a fall in the mortality rate due to cardiovascular
diseases in all the EU countries, but it was higher for Danes than other EU nationals.
Unlike the development in other EU countries, where there was a considerable decline
from 1960 to 1998 in mortality due to vascular disorders of the brain, no appreciable
improvement has been registered amongst Danish women since 1975. Bronchitis,
enlarged lungs and asthma
Mortality as a result of these illnesses increased
for Danish men and Danish women over the whole period, whereas from approx. 1970
and onwards it fell in all the other EU countries. Cirrhosis
(contracted liver disease)
Unlike the other EU countries, there was
an increase between 1960 and 1998 in mortality due to cirrhosis in Denmark. Suicide
The
frequency of suicide amongst Danish women and Danish men decreased during the
whole period. The suicide rate is relatively high in Denmark compared with the
other EU countries. Morbidity
Recent research into morbidity amongst
Danes shows a rise within the population in the last few years. The rise has been
amongst both women and men, and in all age groups. The per-centage of the population
suffering from one or more prolonged illnesses is also increasing. The most common
of the prolonged illnesses are muscular and skeletal diseases, diseases of the
respiratory organs, cardiovascular diseases, neural diseases and sensory diseases. The
most common complaints and symptoms during a 14day period are pains or aches in
the neck or the shoulders; pains or aches in the back or the small of the back;
pains in the limbs, hips or joints; headaches, tiredness, and colds, head colds
or coughing. Two groups of illness stand out from the others: firstly, asthma,
hay fever and other allergic head colds, and secondly, muscular and skeletal diseases.
As regards preventive work, both groups of illnesses have been given high priority
in recent years.
The level of activity at Danish hospitals shows that there is
very little change in the pattern of illnesses. Disregarding births,
the dominant illnesses dealt with in hospitals are also muscu-loskeletal
diseases and bronchitis. Otherwise, the important diagnoses are
cardiovascular dis-eases and tumours.
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DENMARK