Deaths due to Covid-19 decreasing but deaths linked to other respiratory diseases increasing. If, after two years of intense circulation, Covid-19 took up less space in 2022, France then experienced a strong resurgence of other respiratory diseases, which have become the third cause of death behind cancer and cardiovascular diseases. . This is what reveals a reference study on deaths recorded in Francecovering the year 2022, unveiled this Tuesday, October 8 by the Public Health France agency, Inserm and the statistics department of the Ministry of Health (Drees). Every year, these scientists take stock of the main causes of mortality with a slight delay.
In total, more than 673,000 deaths were recorded among the population residing in France in 2022, “a higher number than in 2020 and 2021, two years nevertheless very strongly marked by the Covid-19 epidemic”, observed from AFP Manon Cadillac from Drees. The mortality rate has increased in particular because of “an increase in respiratory diseases linked to winter epidemics, Covid-19, still present despite its decline, an increase in external causes (accidents, falls, etc.)” , summarized Anne Fouillet of Public Health France to AFP.
Declining cancer mortality
“Tumors and diseases of the circulatory system (ischemic heart disease, cerebrovascular diseases) remain the two leading causes of death, but diseases of the respiratory system […] become the third”, indicates the study. Responsible for more than a quarter (25.5%) of deaths in 2022, tumors killed slightly more men than women and, in more than half of the cases , affected seniors aged 65 to 84. Cancer mortality, however, continued its downward trend, even if it has stabilized in women. Lung, colorectal, breast, pancreatic and prostate tumors. remained the most fatal.
In second place are cardiovascular diseases, such as myocardial infarction, stroke and heart failure, causing more than a fifth (20.8%) of deaths. Mortality due to these pathologies has further increased, particularly among women and those over 85, breaking for the second year with pre-pandemic levels. Several countries also reported an increase, including the United States, the United Kingdom and Norway, according to the researchers.
Flu, RSV and heatwaves
Deaths caused by respiratory diseases excluding Covid, notably pneumonia, chronic diseases and influenza, are increasing sharply and represented 6.7% of the total. They returned to a level close to that of 2019. According to Anne Fouillet, this is explained “mainly by the effect of winter epidemics of influenza (a late one in 2021-2022 and an early one in 2022-2023) and RSV ( Editor’s note: respiratory syncytial virus, the main cause of bronchiolitis), and, to a lesser extent, summer heatwaves. “Covid was able to take over a little in 2020-2021 over other causes of mortality, through a phenomenon of competition; in 2022, it was rather respiratory diseases which took over,” explained Anne Fouillet. In 2022, Covid-19 fell to fifth place among causes of death, with victims older than in 2021, while remaining responsible for notable mortality (6.1% of all deaths).
Already apparent in 2021, notable increases in deaths from endocrine, digestive and genitourinary diseases have been confirmed. Furthermore, mortality due to nervous system pathologies including Alzheimer’s and, to a lesser extent, other dementias, has risen to levels close to pre-pandemic levels. A phenomenon also observed in the United Kingdom.
An increase in mortality due to accidents
Another striking fact of this study: mortality due to accidents, in particular falls and domestic accidents, increased in 2022, particularly among people over 85 years old. Deaths due to transport accidents have also increased, without returning to pre-Covid levels. For the first time since 2020, mortality due to external causes (accidents, suicides, etc.) was “significantly” higher than its pre-pandemic trend.
Overall, in the different causes of death, “the effects of sex and age combine a little. Excess male mortality is very high at all ages, and women who die are generally older than men,” he said. Elise Coudin from Inserm told AFP.