According to the latest figures available, the number of deaths in France increased in 2022 compared to 2020 and 2021, two years marked by the health crisis. In total, 673,190 people died in the territory that year, a quarter of which were due to tumors, the leading cause of death.
In 2022, 673,190 people died in France. A number increasing compared to 2020 and 2021, two years however strongly impacted by the Covid-19 epidemic. But then, what are the medical causes of these deaths?
These were analyzed by the Department of Research, Studies and Evaluation of Statistics (DREES), the Inserm Center for Epidemiology of Medical Causes of Death (CépiDc-Inserm) and Public Health France.
Cancers in the lead
And the results, presented in two complementary studies, indicate that tumors (cancers) are the first reason and represent a quarter of deaths in the territory in 2022 (25.5%). And, despite a downward trend, tumor mortality is stabilizing among women.
In second place, cardio-neurovascular diseases (myocardial infarction, stroke, heart failure, etc.) account for 20.8% of deaths and are the most common cause among those aged 85 and over.
On the other hand, a first estimate, still provisional, predicts that mortality from these two causes would drop slightly in 2023.
increase in respiratory diseases excluding covid
If disappearances linked to the health crisis are decreasing, mortality due to respiratory diseases, excluding Covid-19, increased in 2022 to become the third cause of death (6.7%) in France.
For what ? According to the press release, this “could be partly explained by the two seasonal influenza epidemics 2021-22 and 2022-23 and the active circulation of other respiratory viruses”.
For its part, mortality linked to Covid-19 decreased by almost a third compared to 2021, falling to fifth place. This downward trend could be explained by the achievement of high collective immunity at the national and international level.
Accidents, the leading cause apart from illness
On the other hand, if the three leading causes of mortality in France in 2022 are diseases, the fourth is called “external”.
Concretely, it includes all accidents (transport, domestic, falls, accidental poisoning, drowning, etc.) as well as suicides and homicides.
Although it mainly concerns the youngest, it is still increasing among those over 85.
The cause: falls and domestic accidents are increasingly common among the elderly. With the aging of the population, these external causes are expected to continue to increase in the coming years.
