Changes in Cause-of-Death Mortality Trends and Patterns in Romania since 1980

Olga Penina , Nicolae Testemitanu State University Of Medicine And Pharmacy Of The Republic Of Moldova
France Meslé, Institut National d'Études Démographiques (INED)
Jacques Vallin, Institut National d'Études Démographiques (INED)

After several decades of stagnation, mortality in Romania started declining after 1996. Unlike the Czech Republic or Poland that were the first to benefit from life expectancy growth after the fall of Communism, Romania immediately after the 1989 revolution faced a population health deterioration, especially among males. This study is based on the death time series reconstructed for Romania according to the 10th revision of the International Classification of Diseases and Causes of Death since 1980. The reconstructed mortality series assure their comparability across time. We focus our analysis on cause-of-death mortality trends and age- and cause- components of life expectancy changes. The reduction in cardiovascular mortality at adult and old ages is the main contributor to the increase in life expectancy after 1996. At the same time, this progress is accompanied by the lack of improvements for digestive diseases, while the very recent trends for infections and respiratory diseases are of concern. The observed changes in mortality trends are discussed through the prism of the health transition and in the context of changing public health policies and health-related attitudes and behaviours.

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 Presented in Session 19. Causes of Death and Morbidity