Heart disease, cancer caused 51% of Cyprus deaths

According to data released by the Ministry of Health, heart diseases and cancer are the leading causes of death in Cyprus, killing a combined 3,401 people annually.

Some 28% of deaths (1,871) in 2020 were caused by cardiovascular diseases (954 men and 917 women) and 23% (1,530) from cancer (916 men and 614 women).

The other causes of death were below double-digits, including 8% from respiratory diseases (284 men and 247 women), 8% from neuropsychiatric disorders (214 men and 289 women), and 6% from diabetes (211 men and 190 women).

Coronavirus accounted for 2% (131) of all deaths in 2020, with 87 men and 44 women dying from it.

By gender, the leading causes of death in men were ischemic heart disease (narrowing of the arteries) (11.6%) and lung cancer (7.4%).

In women, ischemic heart disease was also the leading cause of death (7.5%), followed by Alzheimer’s and dementia (6.6%).

Most men who died of cancer had lung cancer (28%), colorectal cancer (9%) or prostate cancer (9%).

Similarly, most women who died of cancer had breast cancer (19%), lung cancer (10%) or pancreatic cancer (9%).

Of the total number of deaths, 37% were aged 85 and over, 18% were aged 80-84 years, 12% were aged 75-79 years and 10% were aged 70-74.

In 2020, there were 6,579 deaths, 3,487 men and 3,092 women. Compared to 2017-2019, the total number of deaths increased by 6%.