In Italy, in 2019, 96,400 people died from preventable causes, equal to 63% of all deaths under the age of 75. With very marked differences to the detriment of men: 60,987 males who died against 35,413 women, inequalities that can be explained above all with the preventable component, that is the one most linked to lifestyles (for example alcohol abuse, greater propensity to smoke, inadequate nutrition) and behaviors more at risk (accidental events, work activity, etc.). This is what emerges from the Report to Parliament on the health status of the country 2017-2021, by the Ministry of Health. Despite this, however, at European level our country is among those with the lowest avoidable mortality rates: it is preceded only by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland.
The preventable mortality of men – the report details – is almost triple that of women (14.9 per 10 thousand inhabitants compared to 5.6 per 10 thousand inhabitants), while the treatable mortality is very similar in the two genders (6.8 per 10 thousand inhabitants). inhabitants compared to 6.0 per 10 thousand inhabitants). These gender inequalities are present in all regions: more pronounced in Sardinia and Molise, less evident in Emilia Romagna. The main preventable causes that determine this gender gap are, among others, lung and liver cancer, and ischemic heart disease. In men, the leading cause of death is lung cancer, a preventable disease that has caused 10,713 deaths, while in women, breast cancer, a treatable disease that has resulted in 5,958 deaths.