Excessive drinking keeps mortality rates high in North Karelia

print this

A recent health survey conducted by the Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities indicates that despite a remarkable decline in cardiovascular disease in Finland's province of North Karelia, there has been no significant reduction in the mortality rates in the area in the course of the last 20 years. However, today the major cause of premature death is excessive drinking - not heart disease.
      Professor Ilkka Vohlonen of the University of Kuopio reports that while life expectancies elsewhere in Finland have continued to increase, in North Karelia the premature death rates have remained high. Hence the gap between North Karelia and the other parts of the country has widened further.
     
According to Professor Vohlonen, it was expected along with the North Karelia Project (see link below) that the life expectancies would increase once the premature deaths caused by cardiovascular diseases could be reduced.
     
However, cardiovascular diseases have been replaced by other problems, including alcohol-related diseases and suicides, notes Professor Vohlonen.
      In the most problematic municipalities of the province, the current life expectancy for males is five years below the average - and for females ten years below the average national figures, which are 77 and 82 respectively. In proportion to the population, the mortality rates in these particularly bad areas are as almost high as in Russia.
      One of the problematic municipalities in North Karelia is Rääkkylä. The municipality's specialty is the fact that women live a long time, while the men die prematurely.
      Dr. Tapio Hämäläinen of the local health centre observes that Rääkkylä's health figures are weakened by its high illness rate and by the migration of antisocial elements into vacant rental apartments.
     
However, areas with high life expectancies can be found also in North Karelia. For example, the life expectancies in Kontiolahti and Tuupovaara are as high as those in Sweden.
     
This is the first survey to cover an entire province, and it has attracted attention even at the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health. The ministry is considering conducting a similar study to cover the entire country. A decision will be made at the end of March.
      The North Karelia health survey is based on the so called PYLL index (Potential Years of Life Lost), which is a health status indicator used by the World Bank and the World Health Organization WHO. The survey was carried out between 1982 and 2003.


Links:
  Finland's National Public Health Institute: The North Karelia Project

Helsingin Sanomat