In 2022, 1.1 million deaths among people under the age of 75 in the EU – equivalent to standardised death rate of 257.8 deaths per 100 000 inhabitants – were considered avoidable by early treatment or prevention of diseases. This figure includes 386 710 deaths from diseases that are treatable, which could have been avoided through high-quality healthcare, as well as 725 625 deaths from diseases that are preventable, which could have been avoided through effective public health interventions. The standardised death rate in 2022 was 89.7 per 100 000 inhabitants for deaths arising from treatable diseases and conditions and 168.1 from preventable ones.
The most common cause of death from treatable diseases and conditions was ischaemic heart disease with 77 704 deaths (17.9 per 100 000 inhabitants), followed by colorectal cancer with 57 476 (13.2 per 100 000 inhabitants) and breast cancer in women with 40 970 (9.5 per 100 000 inhabitants) deaths.
For preventable diseases, the most common causes of death were lung cancer with 136 199 (31.2 per 100 000 inhabitants), ischaemic heart disease with 77 704 deaths (17.9 per 100 000 inhabitants) and COVID-19 with 71 919 deaths (16.6 per 100 000 inhabitants).
In 2022, the number of deaths from avoidable diseases varied significantly across the EU. Latvia recorded the highest rate with 543.3 avoidable deaths per 100 000 inhabitants, including 200.7 from treatable and 342.6 from preventable conditions and diseases. Romania had 519.3 avoidable deaths per 100 000 (215.0 treatable and 304.3 preventable), while Hungary recorded 511.8 (178.4 treatable and 333.4 preventable).
The lowest rates of avoidable deaths were registered in Sweden with 169.3 per 100 000 (59.2 treatable and 110.2 preventable), Italy with 176.7 (63.5 treatable and 113.3 preventable), and Luxembourg with 180.2 (60.4 treatable and 119.8 preventable).
