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CANCER

Why twice as many Germans get cancer as 40 years ago

A report on cancer carried out for the Healthy Ministry and published on Tuesday revealed that Germans are increasingly likely to contract cancer, but they should also live longer.

Why twice as many Germans get cancer as 40 years ago
The results of a mammogram. Photo: DPA

The Report on Cancer in Germany, conducted by the Robert Koch Institute, found that almost twice as many new cases of cancer were reported in in 2013 as in 1970. In 2013, 482,500 people were diagnosed with the disease.

The reason though is simple: German society is becoming older, and the risk for many types of cancer increases with age. In fact, Germany now has one of the oldest populations in the world.

Only when one adjusts for the aging of German society do useful patterns cancer rates begin to emerge.

One piece of good news is that lung and prostate cancer rates have gone down. The authors attribute the drop in lung cancer cases to greater awareness of the dangers of smoking. Meanwhile, the report says a drop in the number of advanced tumours identified in women’s breasts is due to the introduction of mammograms.

There are currently four million living people in Germany who have suffered from cancer. In 2013, cancer led to 200,000 people being unable to work, while it was the reason for people needing care in one in eight cases.

The chances of living a longer life after a cancer diagnosis are considerably better now than 35 years ago, the report found. While in 1980 someone who had contracted cancer would on average die at the age of 70, they now live to 74.

“Thanks to our good healthcare system, cancer victims are living much longer now than ten years ago,” said Health Minister Hermann Gröhe in Berlin on Tuesday.

But survival is heavily dependent on the type of cancer one contracts. Those with liver or pancreatic cancer have a worse outlook than those with testicular cancer, for example.

Gröhe emphasized that lifestyle is an important determining factor in whether someone contracts the disease. The report lists alcohol and tobacco consumption, as well as obesity and lack of exercise, as contributing factors.

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LIFE EXPECTANCY

In which parts of Spain do people live longest?

Life expectancy in Spain is the second highest in the world but new data from the country’s national statistics institute reveals where exactly in Spain people live the longest, and it isn’t where you might expect. 

In which parts of Spain do people live longest?
Life expectancy in Spain is the highest in the EU. Photo: ANDER GILLENEA/AFP

People in Spain are forecast to have the longest life expectancy in the world by 2040 – with a projected average lifespan of nearly 85.8 years.

It’s hard to fully understand the Spanish secret to a long life, but according to the scientists it’s a combination of their Mediterranean diet, a good healthcare system, plenty of walking, a close-knit society and a helpful serving of hedonism. If they cut down on drinking and smoking, Spaniards could no doubt live even longer.

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The current life expectancy in Spain has dropped from 84 down to 82.4 in large part due to the coronavirus pandemic, but new data revealed by Spain’s National Statistics Institute (INE) reveals where exactly in Spain people lived the longest in 2018, in normal times before the virus. 

The six municipalities where people live longest in Spain are all in the Madrid region.

The highest life expectancy in the whole country is that of the residents of Pozuelo de Alarcón with an average of 86.2 years. 

Pozuelo is also the wealthiest municipality in the capital and in Spain according to INE stats with average net yearly earnings of €28,326 per inhabitant, which suggests that the higher standard of living is also helping people live longer in Pozuelo.  

The other Madrid region municipalities where people reach 85 years of age or more on average are Majadahonda (85.9 years), Alcorcón (85.4 years), Las Rozas (85.3 years) and Alcobendas (85.3 years), all of which are relatively wealthy residential parts of Madrid, with the exception of Alcorcón. 

In sixth place is another Madrid municipality, San Sebastián de los Reyes (84.8 years), followed by Getxo in Bilbao (84.7), then two more Madrid municipalities – Leganés (84.5) and Getafe (84.4) – followed by Sant Cugat del Vallès, the only Barcelona municipality to make the top ten. 

Table showing the municipalities with the highest and lowest life expectancy in Spain. Source: INE

What exactly is behind people in Madrid living longer than in other parts of Spain? 

The stressful life in the capital, the higher levels of air pollution and reported cuts to public health spending in the region in recent years could all contribute to the assumption that big city life takes its toll on life expectancy. 

In other places around the globe where people live longest, such as Okinawa in Japan and Italy’s Corsica (both islands), an active and social life in less stressful rural settings are thought to contribute to making many locals live past 90. 

But in Spain it seems that adding those extra years to an already long and healthy life could be influenced by income. That’s perfectly evidenced in countries with large rich-poor divides such as the US.

The places with the lowest life expectancy in Spain – which at its very lowest is a very reasonable 79.7 years of age – are mainly lower-income coastal locations with milder climates in the Canary Islands and Andalusia, including cities such as Malaga, Almería, Cádiz, Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (see table above).

So maybe there’s something about the hustle and bustle of the capital that keeps Madrileños enjoying life that little bit longer. According to Spanish fact-checking website maldita.es, the stats should have included the high death rate in the capital during the pandemic.

Either way, wherever it is in Spain, people tend to live longer than anywhere else in the EU, and by 2040 their life expectancy will be the highest in the world.

It’s certainly a factor to consider if you’re thinking of moving here, España might just keep you alive for longer. 

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