COPENHAGEN (dpa): Non-communicable diseases remain the leading cause of death and disability in the European Region, where 20 per cent of men and 10 per cent of women die before 70 years of age, the World Health Organisation (WHO) reported on Friday.
The region saw 1.8 million avoidable deaths each year from cardiovascular disease, cancer, chronic respiratory disease, diabetes and similar, it said.
These deaths were either preventable through effective public health measures or treatable with timely access to quality health care, it added.
Of these avoidable deaths, 60 per cent are linked to preventable causes such as tobacco and alcohol use, high blood pressure, unhealthy diets, obesity and physical inactivity - all of which can be addressed through stronger public health policies, according to the WHO.
The remaining 40 per cent are from treatable causes where death could be prevented or delayed with timely diagnosis and access to quality care.
"Noncommunicable diseases are not just preventable or treatable; They are also largely ignored," WHO regional director Hans Kluge said.
"Our findings show that nearly two million deaths can be avoided every year with better prevention or treatment, while saving billions of dollars in health-care costs ... We have the power and tools to turn things around," Kluge added.
Gaps between countries in the region had declined since 2010, but stark disparities remained, the WHO said.
Preventable risk factors, including tobacco use, obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes, were rising and increasingly concentrated in the eastern part of the region, it said.
The WHO's European Region includes Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and countries in Central Asia. - Bernama-dpa
