Cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, cancers… Two joint studies have revealed the leading causes of death in France in 2022.
- In 2022, cancers were the leading cause of death in France.
- Cardiovascular diseases are the most common cause of death among people over 85.
- Respiratory diseases, excluding Covid-19, increased significantly in 2022.
What are the main causes of mortality in France? This is the question that two studies from the Department of Research, Studies and Evaluation of Statistics (Drees) and Public Health France were interested in.
Cancerous tumors, leading cause of death in France
As part of this work, published this Tuesday, October 8, the 673,190 deaths recorded in 2022 were analyzed by the teams. The researchers noted in particular that there were more deaths in 2022 compared to 2021 and 2020, two years nevertheless affected by the significant spread of Covid-19.
According to the results, cancerous tumors were the leading cause of death in France in 2022. They were responsible for almost a quarter of deaths (25.5%) over the period studied. “Deaths due to tumors concern people on average younger than those from all causes. Mortality from tumors continues its downward trend, but is stabilizing among women,” can we read in the Drees press release.
In second place, we find cardiovascular diseases such as stroke, myocardial infarction and heart failure. Nearly 20.8% of deaths were linked to these pathologies in 2022. It was mainly elderly people who were affected. That year, it was the most common cause of death among people over 85.
A clear progression of respiratory diseases
Another observation from these two studies: respiratory diseases, excluding Covid-19, increased significantly in 2022. They accounted for 6.7% of deaths. It is therefore the third cause of death in France during this decade. According to the Drees, this mortality mainly concerned elderly people, half of whom were over 86 years old. This increase in 2022 could be correlated with the two seasonal influenza epidemics during the winters of 2021 and 2022 and 2022 and 2023, as well as the active circulation of other respiratory viruses, in particular respiratory syncytial virus.
In 2022, Covid-19 was the fifth cause of death in France. Deaths associated with this pathology have decreased by almost a third compared to 2021. For those responsible for the work, this decline ‘could be largely explained by the achievement of high collective immunity at national and international level (broad vaccination coverage, less virulence of variants.’
These two studies also highlighted that endocrine and digestive diseases have increased. They also revealed that deaths in public health establishments have decreased while mortality in accommodation establishments for dependent elderly people (Ehpad) and at home increased in 2022.