Analysis of main causes of premature deaths In Northern Dimension Area

Seminar-2, 22 April 2021

A recent study for the Northern Dimension Partnership in Public Health and Social Wellbeing about potential years of life lost (PYLL) due to preventable premature deaths reveals some amazing facts. It highlights that by 2017, the PYLL rate for the region’s population of 176,4 millions had reached 4,618 years per 100,000 people. For women, the rate was 2,898 and for men the rate was 6,371 years per 100,000 people (that is 2.2 times higher than the rate for women). If we turn these losses into financial terms, the results look alarming. The study was carried out in Belarus, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Sweden, and North West Russia and it was funded by
the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Baltic Sea — Barents and Arctic Cooperation (IBA).

A series of three online seminars discuss the potential years of life lost due to preventable premature deaths in ten European countries listed above. The webinars are organized as part of the European Union funded Northern Dimension Strategy Project, implemented by International Consulting Expertise (ICE). The second webinar focuses on the three Baltic countries and Poland. They represent the “middle rank” of countries measured by their ability to provide preventive and therapeutic measures to avoid premature loss of life for their people. It is encouraging that targets for improvement can be identified if governments implement policies that actively promote public health. All four countries have improved from 2013 to 2017 (Latvia 6%, Poland 8%, Estonia 11% and Lithuania 19%).

Northern Dimension population health status, measured by the index of amenable losses of life 2013 to 2017, improved by eleven percent (11%).

● Estonia (2017) had the 5th best PYLL-rate (4986), the best in the group of 4 countries
● Poland (2017) had the 6th PYLL-rate (5286), the second best in the group of 4 countries
● Lithuania (2017) had the 7th PYLL-rate (6880), the third in the group of 4 countries
● Latvia (2017) had the 8th PYLL-rate (7469), the fourth in the group of 4 countries

In 2017, most PYLL-losses for women in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland were caused by malignant diseases (cancers). In 2017, most PYLL-losses for men in Estonia, Lithuania and Poland were caused by external causes (accidents) of which about 30% were accountable to suicides. In Latvia, the cause of most PYLL-losses for men were accountable to vascular diseases.

If we use the PYLL-index to estimate the economic impact by using Gross National Product between 2013 and 2017 as a measure, the additional years of life gained from improved public health in the ten countries is a staggering € 18 billion. (€ 18,000,000,000). The individual gains are:

● Poland gained € 2,1 billion
● Lithuania gained € 634 Million
● Estonia gained € 149 Million
● Latvia gained € 132 Million

The overall record of middle ranking (5.-8.) EST-POL-LTU-LVA is satisfactory and encouraging as all have continued improvement of decline in avoidable premature losses of life. However, the analysis reveals that all of them still have important unused opportunities to protect their people better through health policy attention. The key lesson is that every ND country could learn from the successes of others, and provide peer support for those countries which are struggling more.

Last but not least, alcohol related losses in the ND area in general and in LVA, LTU, EST & POL (FIN, BLR & NW-RUS including) in particular shows a failure of alcohol policies in our region.

Further information is available from