Archive for category: Disease

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Reducing the Threat of Diseases in Suriname

Diseases in Suriname

Suriname is a small country on the north coast of South America with a population of nearly 600,000. The country has improved much of its health standards in recent years when it comes to treatable diseases in Suriname.

As the country has grown economically and life expectancy has increased, the threat of diseases such as cardiovascular disease typhoid fever and malaria has been reduced. While the country has made progress, certain diseases in Suriname remain a threat in the form of outbreaks.

Suriname’s most recent disease outbreak was a yellow fever outbreak, the country’s first since 1972. This came as a surprise due to Suriname’s comprehensive vaccination programs, which have required yellow fever vaccines for all children starting at one year old since 2014. In response to the outbreak, the Suriname government enhanced vaccination activity to increase coverage and upgraded entomologic and epidemiologic surveillance by strengthening laboratory capacity.

Vaccination improvements have been one of the main factors reducing the threat of treatable diseases in Suriname in recent years. Today, national immunization coverage up is to 86 percent. Certain high-risk diseases such as Hepatitis B and C have been controlled thanks to the widespread childhood immunization programs.

Suriname also dealt with the outbreak of the Zika virus at the end of 2015, after four initial cases appeared, making them one of the earliest countries hit by the outbreak. Suriname implemented a health emergency risk communication plan to help spread awareness about the disease and contained it successfully. Today, government detection programs and strategies are utilized to reduce the threat of mosquitos, including the widespread use of treated netting.

Malaria treatment is another area which Suriname has seen significant improvement in the last decade. Confirmed malaria cases per 1,000 individuals have decreased drastically since 2005, dropping from 120 cases per 1000 to as few as 20 by 2014. Malaria deaths have also decreased as medical treatment and health infrastructure have improved.

Other diseases in Suriname that have been flagged by the government as recent threats are dengue fever and chikungunya fever. Over 2000 cases of dengue fever have been reported in the last 12 years, though none of them have been fatal. Chikungunya fever, another mosquito-borne illness, broke out in Suriname in 2014 with 17 cases, prompting the CDC to launch preventative efforts to raise awareness against the disease.

While several diseases in Suriname such as yellow fever present a threat to the country’s population, improved healthcare and immunization in the last decades have improved life expectancy in the country. Suriname‘s quality vaccination programs have reduced childhood deaths and will help the country when the next outbreak strikes.

– Nicholas Dugan

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Common Diseases in Luxembourg

Common Diseases in Luxembourg

Sandwiched between France and Germany, the small nation of Luxembourg is home to nearly 600,000 citizens. Health for the Luxembourgish people is mostly moderate, straying from the norms of Europe very little. However, common diseases in Luxembourg still take their toll on the population, and are more than attention-worthy.

A World Health Organization (WHO) report from 2004 begins by asserting that boys and girls born in Luxembourg can expect to live as long as any other child in Europe. In other words, the life-expectancy averages are very close. The report also notes that Luxembourg’s first-year-of-life mortality rate is among the lowest in Europe.

Common diseases in Luxembourg, as of the 2004 report, include noncommunicable diseases like heart disease, cancer, and cerebrovascular disease.

According to the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, cerebrovascular disease refers to diseases in which part of the brain is affected by irregular blood flow (“cerebro” meaning “of the large part of the brain” and “vascular” meaning “of the arteries and veins”).

Of these diseases, ischemic stroke is the most common, and occurs when a blockage prevents blood flow to the brain. Victims of this type of attack can usually expect to feel dizzy or nauseated, can feel confused, have abnormal speech, loss of vision, and even experience unusually severe headaches.

Women in particular struggle the most with cerebrovascular diseases in Luxembourg; in fact, women “die from this cause twice as often between 25 and 64 years as women in [the rest of Europe].”

Contributors to cerebrovascular disease include unpreventable circumstances, like age, as well as things that can at least be somewhat controlled, like high blood pressure and smoking. One-third of Luxembourg men and one-fourth of women smoke, one of the highest rates in Europe.

However, cardiovascular disease is the main cause of death in Luxembourg.

The American Heart Association states that the most common effect of cardiovascular disease is a heart attack. This occurs when a blood clot blocks blood flow to part of the heart. If this obstruction blocks blood flow completely, the part of the heart muscle which the artery connects to will begin to die.

Other types of cardiovascular disease include arrhythmia (irregular rhythm of the heart) and heart failure (when the heart cannot pump enough blood).

The current numbers show signs of improvement against the common diseases in Luxembourg. As of 2015, more than ten years later, health has improved in the small European nation. Life expectancy has jumped up to 80 in men and 84 in women, an increase of a few years each.

Cerebrovascular disease has also fallen off, dropping below Alzheimer’s disease, seeing a 25.4 percent decrease between 2005 and 2015. Ischemic heart disease has also seen an improvement, dropping by 22.5 percent in the same time frame.

– Stephen Praytor

Photo: Google

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The 5 Deadliest Common Diseases in Dominica

Common Diseases in Dominica
Home to a smoking lake and built atop an underwater volcano, Dominica is a small island to the southeast of Puerto Rico. The island is in relatively good health compared to its Caribbean neighbors, but that does not mean that disease is not prevalent on the island. Below are five of the deadliest common diseases in Dominica.

The 5 Deadliest Common Diseases in Dominica

  1. Cardiovascular Disease
    Cardiovascular disease covers many different diseases. Coronary artery disease, strokes and hypertensive heart disease all fall under this umbrella. While not communicable, heart disease is still the number one cause of death globally. In Dominica the main contributors to cardiovascular disease are smoking, poor diet and high stress levels.
  2. Diabetes
    Diabetes is a condition that can be either hereditary (Type I) or contracted (Type II). It’s the body losing its ability to create insulin to keep up with high levels of glucose in the bloodstream. Type II Diabetes, the most common form, is usually more prevalent in more developed nations due to diets high in sugars and carbohydrates.
  3. Lower Respiratory Infections
    Just like cardiovascular disease, lower respiratory infections are prevalent worldwide, accounting for more than 3 percent of all deaths globally in 2012. Luckily, in Dominica, lower respiratory infection mortality has decreased by 3 percent in the last decade.
  4. Prostate Cancer
    Prostate cancer is the most prevalent form of cancer in Dominica. It’s estimated that one in seven men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during his life. It’s one of the leading causes of death among men worldwide. It’s also one of the fastest-growing diseases. From 1990 to 2013, Dominica experienced a 105 percent increase in prostate cancer deaths.
  5. Chronic Kidney Disease
    Also known as kidney failure is the gradual shut down of the kidneys. As the kidneys stop working, fluids and excess salts build up in the body and as a last resort, patients are put on dialysis to filter out said salts. Diabetes and kidney disease are closely related, and both are related to diet. In the last decade, there’s been an 80 percent spike in deaths associated with kidney disease.

While this list isn’t exhaustive, it does run very nearly parallel to the most deadly diseases worldwide. What does that mean for Dominica? Nearly all of the most common diseases in Dominica are related in some way to diet and therefore preventable. Until breakthroughs are made in food science and medicine, these diseases will continue to plague Dominica and the world.

– Thomas James Anania

Photo: Flickr

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Common Diseases in Sudan

Common Diseases in Sudan
Sudan is an East African country that has been embroiled in civil wars for several decades, leading to its split with South Sudan in 2011. The long period of instability in the country has contributed to conditions that encourage the spread of communicable diseases, which are some of the most common diseases in Sudan.

Most Common Diseases in Sudan

  1. Yellow Fever – Yellow fever is a common virus found in tropical areas of South America and Africa. Transmitted to an individual through the bite of an infected mosquito, yellow fever ranks as one of the most common diseases in Sudan. Symptoms include influenza-like symptoms such as a fever, chills, severe headache, back pain, general body aches, nausea, vomiting, fatigue and weakness, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Severe cases can lead to internal bleeding and failure of major organs. Sudan is listed as one of the thirty countries in Africa with a high risk of yellow fever.
  2. Rift Valley Fever – From 2007 to 2010, a major outbreak of Rift Valley fever, a mosquito-borne viral disease, was recorded in Sudan. Standing water from unusual flooding allowed for infected mosquito eggs to lie dormant. Infected mosquitos also feed on livestock, which can pass the disease to humans through infected blood and meat. The Rift Valley fever outbreak devastated Sudanese agricultural communities, leading to an almost 100 percent mortality rate among young animals and high pregnancy failures among child-bearing livestock. According to the CDC, nearly 75,000 people were infected with the disease over the course of three years. Symptoms include fever and liver irregularities, but severe cases can cause hemorrhagic fever, encephalitis or ocular disease.
  3. Guinea Worm Disease – One of the most geographically specific and common diseases in Sudan is Guinea worm disease. The infection, caused by the parasite Dracunculus medinensis, the Guinea worm, is spread by drinking water containing worm larvae. Guinea worm disease highly affects poor communities in Sudan that have little access to clean drinking water. Once ingested, over the course of a year, larvae grow into full-size adults within a human’s digestive tract. Within 24 to 72 hours after reaching full-size, the infected person develops blisters on their hands or feet, out of which the worm eventually emerges. Based on research by the CDC, there is applicable treatment of Guinea worm disease and no vaccine for prevention.
  4. Meningococcal Meningitis – Meningococcal meningitis is a bacterial disease that causes an inflammation of the lining of the brain and spinal cord. It is a respiratory disease transmitted from person to person by close and prolonged contact resulting from crowded living conditions. Sudan lies in the region of sub-Saharan Africa referred to as the “Meningitis Belt,” where the highest rate of meningococcal meningitis occurs throughout the continent. Symptoms can include a stiff neck, high fever, headaches and vomiting. The CIA World Factbook listed Sudan as a country at very high risk of infection.
  5. Malaria – Transmitted to humans through the bite of the female Anopheles mosquito, malaria ranks as one of the most common diseases in Sudan. With cases recorded in all regions of Sudan, the risk of contracting the disease is extremely high. According to the CDC, symptoms of malaria include fever, chills and flu-like illness. Severe cases can end in death. In 2015, a confirmed 586,827 cases of the disease were treated. However, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that, including unreported cases, there were 1,400,000 total. Estimated deaths total around 3,500.
  6. HIV/AIDS – Based on research conducted by the CDC, human immunodeficiency virus and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) affect an estimated 35 million people worldwide, with more than two-thirds of those living in sub-Saharan Africa. In 2015, 25 percent of adults in Sudan were living with HIV/AIDS, according to the CIA World Factbook. HIV/AIDS is most often spread through unprotected intercourse but can be contracted by blood-to-blood contact with an infected person. Symptoms are often flu-like and can progress to severe cases that can be fatal. HIV/AIDS ranks as an extremely common disease in Sudan today.

Despite the country’s high risk of contracting an infectious disease, work is being done to combat issues related to health and sanitation. The World Health Organization, in coordination with the Sudanese Ministry of Health, is taking action, such as expanding cholera emergency responses to lower future risk and training health workers in disease detection.

– Riley Bunch

Photo: Flickr

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Communicable Common Diseases in Cabo Verde

Common Diseases in Cabo Verde

Vaccines have been a luxury for the leading countries of the world, but for poor countries, accessing them is much more difficult. Some diseases are preventable with a vaccine, but there are many that are not. Due to the poverty in Cabo Verde, diseases that can’t be prevented with a vaccine are just as common as the ones that can.

These are some common diseases in Cabo Verde that can be treated with a vaccine:

  1. Hepatitis A
    Hepatitis A is transmitted through contaminated food and water or through physical contact between people. Symptoms can take up to two weeks to appear and include jaundice or elevation of liver enzymes. In Cabo Verde, it is most common where the environment and drinking water are unclean.Hepatitis A typically lasts less than two months’ time. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that “supportive care” is the best form of treatment. There are two vaccines available to prevent Hepatitis A — Vaqta and Harvix — which can be used on patients at least a year old.
  2. Hepatitis B
    According to the CDC, an estimated 248 million around the world people are infected with Hepatitis B. This disease is transmitted typically through blood and other fluids that are produced by the body. This can happen through the sharing of needles, unprotected sex and exposure to blood. Hepatitis B infects the liver and its symptoms are abdominal pain, jaundice, anorexia, vomiting and fatigue.For those with chronic Hepatitis B, antiviral drugs are available, otherwise, there is no direct treatment for it. There is a vaccine that is administered in three separate doses as a preventative measure.
  3. Yellow Fever
    Yellow Fever is transmitted through the bite of a mosquito that is carrying the disease. Young children are the most likely to contract it because immunity is developed as people age. In Cabo Verde, Yellow Fever becomes a problem beginning in July when the weather becomes dry and typically ends in October.There are no direct treatments for Yellow Fever. Those that contract Yellow Fever are advised to rest, use analgesics and antipyretics to control the symptoms and avoid another mosquito bite. In Cabo Verde, it is required that travelers are vaccinated before entering the country. Revaccination is no longer required as of July of 2016, but proof of a vaccination is needed when leaving Cabo Verde and entering a new country.

These are some communicable common diseases in Cabo Verde that cannot be treated with a vaccine:

  1. African Tick-Bite Fever
    African Tick-Bite Fever is spread through the bite of ticks that are infected with the disease. Symptoms are typically soreness of muscles, rash and fever which typically appear two weeks after the bite. In Cabo Verde, the disease is most common from November through April.
  2. Chikungunya
    Chikungunya is a disease that is spread through mosquito bites. Those infected typically experience joint and muscle pain, fever, headache and rash. The mosquitoes carrying the disease are most active during the day near buildings in major cities.
  3. Dengue
    Like Chikungunya, Dengue is spread through the bite of infected mosquitoes. Its symptoms develop over the course of two weeks and are often fever, rash, muscle, joint and eye pain and vomiting. Some cases are more severe and bleeding, intense or even death can occur. Mosquitoes carrying Dengue are often found at an elevation of 6,500 feet and bite at any time in the day.

Prevention of common diseases in Cabo Verde is an important aspect for each citizen. Knowing what vaccinations are available and what measures to take when there isn’t one could keep the country from plummeting into a disastrous epidemic.

– Mackenzie Fielder

Photo: Flickr

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Common Diseases in Slovakia

Common Diseases in Slovakia

Located in Central Europe, just south of Poland, lies the Slovak Republic – otherwise called Slovakia. After returning to a market economy at the end of 1989 after the Czechoslovakian “Velvet Revolution” and suffering some brief years of economic hardship after its separation from the Czech Republic, the country has implemented many economic reforms. Today, the 5.4 million inhabitants of Slovakia enjoy an open economy with strong growth and a sound banking sector. Despite its economic success, however, Slovakia is still affected by a number of harmful diseases. Here are the most common diseases in Slovakia today:

Ischemic Heart Disease
A condition characterized by narrowed heart arteries, thus reducing blood flow to the heart, ischemic heart disease can eventually result in unexpected heart attack. Also known as coronary artery disease, ischemic heart disease was assessed to be the most fatal of the common diseases in Slovakia in 2005. By 2015, it was still the most fatal, but the prevalence of deaths by the disease had fortunately decreased by 16.8 percent.

Cerebrovascular Disease
Cerebrovascular disease refers to any disease affecting blood flow to the brain. Such disorders often result in aneurysms, carotid stenosis, intracranial stenosis, vertebral stenosis, stroke and vascular malformations. In 2015, cerebrovascular disease was the second most fatal common disease in Slovakia, and had been for the past decade. However, the disease had fortunately decreased in prevalence by 17.4 percent within those 10 years.

Lung Cancer
A type of cancer beginning in the lungs, lung cancer can cause a person to cough up blood, experience chronic fatigue, have recurrent respiratory problems and lose weight unexpectedly, to name just a few symptoms. Smoking is cited as a high risk factor for developing lung cancer. In 2005, lung cancer was the third most fatal of the common diseases in Slovakia. In 2015, it remains so, but the prevalence of death by the disease has decreased by 2.8 percent.

Thankfully, the most common diseases in Slovakia have been decreasing in prevalence for the past decade. In addition, it was announced in 2015 that Slovakia would be focusing on assessing the country’s public health situation, including working on running more effective public health campaigns. Obviously, Slovakia is dedicated to improving the country’s health standards and reducing the prevalence of the most common diseases affecting its citizens.

– Shannon Golden

Photo: Flickr

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Common Diseases in Norway

Common Diseases in Norway

Norway, a country in northern Europe, is known for its beautiful landscapes and happy population. While the country is commonly mentioned as one of the happiest countries in the world, it too faces the plight of disease just like the rest of the world. Here are some of the most common diseases in Norway.

1. Ischemic Heart Disease
Known as the most common cause of death in the Western world, ischemic heart disease is a shortage of blood supply. In its less severe form it is felt as angina, but as the disease gets worse, plaque begins to cover the wall of the artery, leading to a heart attack.

2. Alzheimer’s Disease
A type of dementia that causes problems with memory, thinking and behavior, Alzheimer’s disease is the second most common cause of death in Norway. Alzheimer’s is the most common form of dementia and begins to affect adults around the age of 65. In the early stages of the disease, those inflicted experience memory loss, but as it continues on it becomes difficult for them to keep up with a conversation or respond to the environment around them.

3. Cerebrovascular Disease
Encompassing different types of afflictions, cerebrovascular disease refers to any disorder in which the brain is affected by bleeding. The various conditions include stroke, carotid stenosis, vertebral stenosis and other diseases.

4. COPD
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease is a disease that affects millions of people all around the world. This term is one that describes several conditions including emphysema, chronic bronchitis, asthma and forms of bronchiectasis. While many people have subtle symptoms such as breathlessness and coughing that are a normal part of aging, these can be the first signs of more serious pulmonary issues.

5. Lung Cancer
One of the most common cancers in the world, lung cancer is a leading cause of death in Norway. Most of the time, lung cancer is caused by behavior choices, such as smoking. Other risk factors include high levels of pollution, radiation and asbestos exposure.

While many of the most common diseases in Norway are ones that come naturally as we get older, some of them, such as lung cancer, are ones most commonly brought about by behavioral and environmental choices.

– Olivia Hayes

Photo: Flickr

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Why Certain Regions Have Such High Life Expectancies

Why Certain Regions Have Such High Life ExpectanciesWhen it comes to life expectancy, not all areas in the world were created equal. Depending on where an individual lives, their expected age of death can range from anywhere in the high forties to mid-eighties. Recent studies have shown there are specific reasons why certain regions have such high life expectancies while others continue to fall far behind.

Research conducted in countries such as Singapore and Spain has shown that these regions share characteristics that contribute to their incredibly high life expectancy, proving that there are ways to be proactive about enhancing the length of life around the world.

Here are five critical factors that scientists attribute to why certain regions have such high life expectancies:

1. Healthy diet
Researchers have shown that the Japanese nutrient-rich diet full of sweet potatoes and seafood contributes to their average lifespan of 83 years. South Korea, the first country expected to break 90 years in life expectancy, is home to a variety of healthy, fermented foods that promote longevity.

2. Exercise
Even a small amount of exercise has incredible effects in improving life expectancy. Most people don’t even need a regimen to have good health—simply choosing to move more on a daily basis while going through their regular routine can make the difference. For example, in crowded Spanish cities, people often prefer biking or walking, which is part of the reason why their average lifespan is just under 83 years.

3. Community
A large part of the reason why certain regions have such high life expectancies relates to a strong sense of community. Collectivist cultures that value social connections and relationships lead to healthier, happier individuals. This is especially true in East Asian cultures, specifically Japan and South Korea.

4. Low levels of stress
Stress has a strong correlation with many non-communicable health issues, such as high blood pressure or stroke. It also can take as many as sixteen years off a person’s life. However, high life expectancy countries take the effects of stress seriously and provide helpful resources. Singapore ranks at the top of the list for longevity, and for good reason—citizens have many outlets to reduce stress, including therapeutic parks and Buddhist meditation practices.

5. Healthcare
Areas with advanced medicine and doctors tend to have higher life expectancies. Singapore’s healthcare system has been described as a “miracle”, and is part of the reason why their average citizen lives to see 83 years of age.

By examining what these countries are doing right, policy makers are gaining a better understanding why certain regions have such high life expectancies and what they can do to improve life quality in their countries. Based on these facts, the approach for regions with lower life expectancies should include holistic health programs that stress relationship building and mindfulness.

– Kailey Dubinsky

Photo: Flickr

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Common Diseases in Togo

Common Diseases in TogoAlthough it is a small country wedged between Ghana and Benin, the most common diseases in Togo can have a major impact on many.

The World Health Organization reported that in 2014, a little over five percent of the country’s GDP expenses went toward health. The organization also listed a 2015 data finding that males and females between 15 and 60 had slightly different death rates: 309 out of 1,000 people for men versus 266 out of 1,000 people for women.

HealthGrove further put this into perspective, highlighting that out of 100,00 people, 1,266 die yearly in Togo, and listed the country’s life expectancy at 60 years.

Of the common diseases in Togo, those that can be transferred (communicable diseases) are some of the most prevalent.

Diarrhea, lower respiratory and other common infectious diseases
These accounted for a little less than 20 percent of deaths overall and slightly over 30 percent of communicable diseases specifically. Compared to 1990, in 2013 lower respiratory infections, diarrheal diseases and meningitis all posed much lower threats of mortality.

HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis
These diseases led to between 14 and 15 percent of deaths overall and over 22 percent of communicable disease-related deaths. While tuberculosis’s threat of death has decreased since 1990, HIV/AIDS has increased substantially—by 1,038 percent.

Neglected tropical diseases and malaria
These made up 12 percent of deaths in general and almost 19 percent of deaths from communicable diseases.
Malaria, rabies and schistosomiasis death rates all fell from 1990.

Neonatal disorders
These accounted for 10 to 11 percent of deaths total and over 16 percent of mortality rates due to communicable disease.

Nutritional deficiencies
These led to about four percent of deaths in general and between 6 to 7 percent of deaths for communicable diseases.

In addition, diseases that cannot be transferred—non-communicable diseases—are among some of the common diseases in Togo.

Cardiovascular diseases
As the most common of the non-communicable diseases, these accounted for a little less than 11 percent of deaths overall and over 35 percent of NCD-related deaths. Stroke, ischemic heart disease and other cardiovascular/circulatory disease rates all fell from 1990.

Diabetes, urogenital, blood and endocrine diseases
In total, these only made up slightly more than five percent of deaths, but in terms of NCDs specifically, these increased to over 17 percent. While hemoglobinopathies and hemolytic anemias, as well as chronic kidney disease, both fell since 1990 (the latter only by one percent), diabetes mellitus actually increased by about 13 percent.

Cancer
Cancer led to over four percent of deaths in general and over 14 percent of NCD-related deaths. Liver, cervical and stomach cancers all fell by over 30 percent from 1990.

There are still a number of improvements that can be made. For 2015, Togo qualified as a low-income food-deficit country and only slightly less than 12 percent of its citizens used improved sanitation facilities that year.

However, about 63 percent of the population in the same year utilized improved water drinking sources, 85 percent of one-year old children had measles immunizations and the mortality rate of children below five years old fell from about 108 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2004 to 78.4 in 2015.

The WHO released a report in February of this year detailing a meningococcal disease outbreak, but listed methods undertaken to address the matter, including requests for vaccinations, support for management and surveillance and the training of health personnel.

Applying these same tactics to the communicable diseases listed may be beneficial. Other methods, like increasing knowledge on how to reduce the spread of disease, as well as improving access to clean water and other nutritional sources could also be key.

Furthermore, for non-communicable diseases—though some may be genetic—tactics like increased exercise and diet changes may yield a reduction in their prevalence.

The nation must still make specific improvements to ensure that its population is healthy. But judging by the fluctuations of common diseases in Togo, there is great hope for a decrease in their pervasiveness.

– Maleeha Syed

Photo: Flickr

Common Diseases in Sweden

Common Diseases in SwedenSweden is a Scandinavian country located in Northern Europe between Finland and Norway. The country has a population of 9.903 million people. Like any country, there are common diseases in Sweden that affect the population.

1. Cardiovascular Diseases

Ischemic heart disease is the most common form of heart disease in Sweden. The annual mortality rate from the diseases is 241.1 deaths per 100,000 people. A major contributor to ischemic heart diseases and other cardiovascular diseases is diabetes. About 6.9 percent of the population has diabetes. If current rates continue, 10.3 percent of Swedes will have diabetes by 2050. Major risk factors for diabetes and cardiovascular diseases include high blood pressure and cholesterol, smoking, stress, lack of exercise, poor eating habits and unhealthy weight. An estimated 31.1 percent of Swedes are physically inactive. Additionally, 59.2 percent are overweight and 22 percent are obese.

2. Respiratory Diseases

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the most common form of respiratory disease and frequently undiagnosed. About 500,000 people in Sweden have the disease. Every year, about 3,000 people die from COPD. Age is a contributor to the disease as well as smoking. Despite a COPD diagnosis, many people continue to smoke until death. Studies have found that of those who die from COPD, 40 percent of women and 33 percent of men are still smokers.

3. Neoplasms

In 2011, the most common cancer sites in men were prostate (32.2 percent), skin excluding melanoma (10.8 percent), colon (6.9 percent), lung (6.5 percent) and urinary organs (6.5 percent). In women, the most frequent sites are breast (30.3 percent), skin excluding melanoma (9.1 percent), colon (7.6 percent), lung (6.5 percent) and melanoma (5.9 percent). Despite these rates, recent developments have shown that cancer patients living in Sweden are less likely to die of cancer compared to those living in other European countries. Cancer survival rates in Sweden are 64.7 percent. In northern Europe, the rate is 59.6 percent.

4. Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia

In 2012, an estimated 173,135 people in Sweden had dementia, accounting for 1.82 percent of the population. This is higher than the 1.55 percent average in the European Union. Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia contribute to 69.1 deaths per 100,000 people every year. Dementia is more common with increasing age. Rarely are people below 65 diagnosed with dementia.

5. Sexually Transmitted Infections

People in Sweden are more likely to be treated for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) such as chlamydia and gonorrhea than in other European countries. A major contributor to this problem is the lack of contraception use. Studies show that 50 percent of young adults in Sweden do not use condoms with new partners and 30 percent do not use any contraception.

Acknowledging and understanding these common diseases in Sweden is important for public health policy efforts in the country.

– Francesca Montalto

Photo: Flickr