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Luxembourg's Ministry of Health reported today that cardiovascular disease and cancer remained the leading cause of death in the Grand Duchy in 2018.
In 2018, the Health Directorate's cause of death register recorded 4,108 deaths in Luxembourg, i.e. 29 fewer deaths than the previous year. The ratio between women (2,043 deaths) and men (2,065 deaths) remained balanced. Men died on average at the age of 74 and women at the age of 80. More than half (55.7%) of those who died were at least 85 years old.
On average, eleven people died per day, 78 per week and 342 per month. The highest number of deaths was recorded in February with 428 deaths, compared to 291 deaths in June 2018. 29.6% of deaths occurred during the first quarter of the year.
93.4% of all deaths were due to illness, while 6.6% were due to external causes. More than half of deaths took place in hospital, a quarter in retirement homes and 17% at home.
Cardiovascular disease and cancer: leading causes of death in Luxembourg and EU
As in previous years, cardiovascular disease was the leading cause of death in Luxembourg, accounting for 29.0% of deaths (30.8% in 2017) or 1,193 people who died (589 men and 604 women). Nevertheless, the number of deaths resulting from cardiovascular disease fell by 7% over one year (from 1,276 in 2017). In the European Union (EU27), the standardised death rate for this cause of death in 2017 was also the highest, with 370 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants (285 per 100,000 in Luxembourg).
Cancer remained the second leading cause of death, accounting for 27.5% of all deaths in Luxembourg. Compared to 2017, the number of cancer-related deaths decreased slightly from 1,160 to 1,130 people. Among men, it was lung cancer which caused the highest number of deaths (142 in 2018 compared to 86 female deaths). In women, breast cancer resulted in 91 deaths, followed by lung cancer and colorectal cancer with 61 deaths. In the EU27, the standardised death rate for cancer-related deaths in 2017 was also high, with 267 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants (250 per 100,000 in Luxembourg).
The other main causes of death each represented less than 10% of deaths: respiratory diseases accounted for 9.4% of deaths, mental and behavioural disorders accounted for 7.0% and external causes (accidents, suicides and others) accounted for 6.6%.
In addition, 2018 saw a decrease in the number and the relative proportion of deaths related to infectious and parasitic diseases (68 compared to 106 in 2017), endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases (102 compared to 147) and symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical and laboratory examination results (113 compared to 141). On the other hand, an opposite trend was observed for mental and behavioural disorders (286 compared to 228 in 2017), respiratory diseases (388 compared to 314) and external causes (270 compared to 220). The number of stillborn babies (42) remained stable.
Impact of COVID-19 on mortality in the first half of 2020
According to statistics published by Eurostat last month, 168 more deaths were recorded in weeks 10-26 (March to June) of 2020 in the 26 EU Member States for which data were available compared to the average number of deaths during the same period between 2016 and 2019. These data included all deaths, regardless of their cause, but are considered useful in assessing the direct and indirect effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the European population. For Luxembourg, COVID-19 had a limited impact on mortality in the first half of 2020, according to observations from STATEC.
