Two studies, the results of which were published this Tuesday, October 8, make it possible to precisely quantify the major causes of death in France for the year 2022.
At the top are tumors, followed by cardiovascular diseases.
For the first time since 2020, Covid-19 is declining as a cause of death.
The Department of Research, Studies and Evaluation of Statistics (DREES), the Inserm Center for Epidemiology of Medical Causes of Death (CépiDc-Inserm), as well as Santé Publique France (SPF), analyzed “medical causes of death of residents and deaths in France in 2022”. This is the result of two complementary studies, carried out from the analysis of the medical sections of death certificates.
Precisely, 673,190 people died on French territory in 2022, more than for the years 2020 and 2021, although they were much more affected by the Covid-19 epidemic. These people “are, on average, older than in 2021”note the authors of the studies. The standardized mortality rate (established taking into account the aging of the population), however, is stable compared to the previous year.
Tumors, leading cause of death
Cancerous tumors are responsible for a quarter of deaths recorded in France in 2022 (25.5%). Tumor mortality, however, continues its downward trend, note the two studies, “but stabilizes among women”.
Cardio-neurovascular diseases
They constitute the second major cause of death recorded in France in 2022. Cardio-neurovascular diseases, including myocardial infarction, stroke or heart failure, are the cause of a fifth of deaths (20 .8%). These mainly concern elderly people: these pathologies are the main causes of death over the age of 85. This mortality is higher, whatever the population concerned, than what was predicted by the continuation of the trends recorded before the Covid-19 epidemic.
According to initial estimates to be confirmed, deaths from cancer and cardio-neurovascular disease would have decreased slightly the following year, in 2023.
Respiratory diseases and Covid-19
Pathologies linked to the respiratory system, excluding Covid-19, have “strongly progressed” in 2022, to reach 6.7% of deaths, the third cause of death in France, at a level closer to that before the epidemic. Half of the deaths due to these pathologies concern people aged 86 or over. The studies used mention influenza and respiratory syncytial virus as probable causes of this increase.
On the other hand, the number of victims of Covid-19 has decreased by almost a third, relegating this virus to fifth position as a cause of death in France. A decline that scientists mainly explain by better collective immunity, and which would be confirmed by the first estimates for the year 2023.
Accidents
Almost tied with respiratory diseases in the causes of deaths in 2022, we find “external causes”: 6.7% of deaths. They even represent the second cause of death among people under 65, after cancer. This level of mortality is higher than suggested by the trends recorded before the health crisis due to Covid-19. Among external causes, accidents are increasing in all age groups, but particularly for those over 85, prone to falls and domestic accidents. The number of transport accidents is also increasing, but without reaching the level they had before the epidemic.
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Other causes of death are increasing, such as endocrine diseases or those of the digestive system. This is a reversal of the trend compared to that which they knew before the start of the health crisis in 2020. The studies also note that the share of deaths occurring in public health establishments is decreasing, while it is increasing at home. and in nursing homes.
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