Malta tops EU respiratory death rates

Malta recorded the highest death rate from respiratory diseases in 2023, recording its highest ever rate after the rate rose for over a decade, new Eurostat data shows.

A total of 545 people died from respiratory diseases that year, excluding deaths related to COVID-19. This translates to a standardised death rate of 121.8 deaths per 100,000 people. This figure is significantly above the EU average of 75.2. Denmark and Romania followed closely behind Malta with death rates of 114.3 and 108.9 respectively.

The data also shows that 2023 marked the highest respiratory disease death rate recorded by Malta since comparable statistics began being collected in 2011.

It is also the first time the country has topped the EU ranking for respiratory disease deaths. Previously, in 2021 and 2022, the top spot was taken by Slovakia, which reported a death rate of 158.13 in 2021. At the time, that was the highest rate an EU country ever reported since the data began to be collected.

In 2011, Malta’s death rate for respiratory diseases stood at 81 per 100,000 people. While the figure fluctuated in the years that followed, the overall trend shows a gradual rise, culminating in the record rate registered in 2023.

Across the EU, however, the trend moved slightly in the opposite direction, with the average death rate from respiratory diseases declining marginally by 1.3 per cent since 2013.

A bar chart showing the different respiratory disease death rates across the EU. Chart: Eurostat

The World Health Organisation says some of the main causes for respiratory diseases are tobacco exposure, occupational exposure to dust, fumes or chemicals and indoor and outdoor pollution.

A few months ago, a report released by the European Commission found that Malta is the only EU country expected to emit more greenhouse gases in 2030 than it did in 2005.

Meanwhile, more vehicles are being added to Malta’s roads every day, with recent figures showing that more than 73,000 people own more than one vehicle.

Regarding smoking, cigarette smoking rates have hit a record low but this change is largely due to the decline of male smokers as the rate of female smokers has remained virtually unchanged from 2001 to 2023.

Last year, respiratory expert and former medical union boss Martin Balzan warned that Malta is in the “asthma champions league”, pointing to traffic congestion as a major contributing factor. A Times of Malta fact-check into his statement found that while Malta’s asthma rates remain high, several other European countries are in a similar situation.

Malta’s cancer death rate stood at 192.7 per 100,000 people

Respiratory diseases remain the third leading cause of death in the EU, behind circulatory diseases and cancer.

In 2023, circulatory diseases accounted for 33 per cent of all deaths across the bloc, or around 1.59 million deaths.

Cancer was the second leading cause, responsible for 24 per cent of deaths, equivalent to around 1.16 million deaths.

Respiratory diseases accounted for 7.8 per cent of deaths, or roughly 380,000.

Despite topping the EU list for respiratory disease death rates, Malta fared much better on death rates for circulatory diseases and cancer, registering rates lower than the EU average.

The EU’s death rate for circulatory diseases stood at 312.9 per 100,000 people, compared with 254.3 in Malta. Similarly, Malta’s cancer death rate stood at 192.7 per 100,000 people, lower than the EU average of 233.1.

In absolute numbers, Malta recorded 1,172 deaths linked to circulatory diseases in 2023, while 966 people died from cancer.

The most common causes of death within circulatory diseases are ischaemic heart disease and cerebrovascular conditions such as strokes. The most common cancer-related deaths in the EU are caused by malignant tumours of the trachea, bronchus and lung.