Home > Statistics > Causes of death > 2008 > Number of alcohol-related deaths has remained almost unchanged

Published: 18 December 2009

Number of alcohol-related deaths has remained almost unchanged

Number of alcohol-related deaths year 2008 has remained almost unchanged from year 2007. In the past two decades deaths by alcohol-related diseases and alcohol poisonings have doubled, and clearly more men among aged 15-64 now die of alcohol-related causes than of ischaemic heart disease.

A total of 49,090 persons, 24,451 men and 24,639 women, died in 2008.

The commonest disease of the circulatory organs, ischaemic heart disease, was the cause of every fourth death. Diseases of the circulatory organs caused 40 per cent of all deaths.

Tumours caused good 20 per cent of deaths. Lung cancer was the commonest type of cancer among men and breast cancer among women.

Dementia caused 14 per cent of women's and 6 per cent of men's deaths. The number of deaths caused by dementia has grown in the past few decades mainly due to the ageing of the populations. Mortality from dementia is clearly higher among women than among men, most likely because women live longer than men.

In 2008, accidents caused the death of 3,014 persons, of whom 2,048 were men and 966 women. Among men the commonest accidents leading to death were falls, alcohol poisonings and fatal traffic accidents. Among women the commonest fatal accidents were falls, the highest number of which happened to women over the age of 75.

The number of suicides in Finland was 1,033 in 2008. Men committed 77 per cent of them. There were 24 boys and 17 girls under the age of 20 and 46 men and 13 women over the age of 74 among the persons having committed suicide. Two-thirds of the persons who committed suicide were aged between 30 and 64.

A total of 119 persons, 79 men and 40 women, died as a result of violence in 2008. In a comparison of the EU-Statistics, men's mortality from violence is the seventh highest in Finland after the Baltic states, Macedonia, Bulgaria and Romania. Women's mortality from violence is the fourth highest in Europe after the Baltic states.

Number of deaths 2007 and 2008

Cause of death and age	Total		Males		Females
	2007	2008	2007	2008	2007	2008
Deaths total	49 093	49 090	24 805	24 451	24 288	24 639
- 15-64 years	10 848	10 864	7 629	7 614	3 219	3 250
Neoplasms	11 097	11 214	5 803	5 782	5 294	5 432
-15-64 years	2 874	2 908	1 547	1 592	1 327	1 316
Disease of circulatory system	20193	20 144	9 650	9 495	10 543	10 649
- 15-64 years	2 557	2 548	2 048	2 029	509	519
Of which: Ischaemic heart diseases	11 887	11 761	6 058	5 913	5 829	5 848
- 15-64 years	1 419	1 407	1 213	1 194	206	213
Alcohol related deaths	2 167	2 136	1 701	1 674	466	462
-15-64 years	1 796	1 775	1425	1 388	371	387
Accidental deaths (excl. alcohol poisoning)	2 484	2 470	1643	1 619	841	851
- 15-64 years	1 189	1 129	948	901	241	228
Suicides	995	1 033	751	801	244	232
15-64 years	817	867	618	677	199	190
Assaults, homicides	116	119	74	79	42	40
-15-64 -v.	100	108	69	74	31	34

Development of leading causes of deaths among aged 15 to 64

Altogether 7,614 men and 3,250 women died at working age (aged 15 to 64) in 2008.

Men's deaths from ischaemic heart disease have halved in the past two decades or so. Over the same time period, alcohol-related diseases and alcohol poisonings have doubled, and clearly more men now die of alcohol-related causes than of ischaemic heart disease. Other leading causes of death among men of working age are accidents and suicides. The number of suicides has fallen among working-age men in the past twenty years, although it has shown some increase in recent years.

The commonest causes of death among working-age women were various cancers, especially breast cancer, ischaemic heart disease and alcohol-related causes. In the past two decades mortality from breast cancer has fallen by some twenty per cent among working-age women. Over the same time period, women's deaths of alcohol-related causes have gone up by around 40 per cent and their number now clearly exceeds women's deaths of breast cancer and ischaemic heart disease. The number of suicides among women of working age has not changed appreciably in the past few decades and has even fallen in recent years.

Development of leading causes of deaths in 1988-2008 among men aged 15 to 64
Ischaemic heart disease, accidents, suicides and alcohol-related causes

Development of leading causes of deaths in 1988-2008 among women aged 15 to 64:
Alcohol-related causes, Malignant neoplasm of breast, Ischaemic heart disease and, Accidents

Source: Causes of Death Statistics 2008, Statistics Finland

Inquiries: Helena Korpi (09) 1734 3605, Jari Hellanto (09) 1734 3291, kuolemansyyt.tilasto@stat.fi

Director in charge: Jari Tarkoma

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Appendix tables

• Number of deaths 2007 and 2008 (18.12.2009)

Figures

• Development of leading causes of deaths in 1988-2008 among men aged 15 to 64: Alcohol-related deaths, Ischaemic heart diseases, accidents and suicides (18.12.2009)
• Development of leading causes of deaths in 1988-2008 among women aged 15 to 64: Alcohol-related causes, Malignant neoplasm of breast, Ischaemic heart disease and, Accidents (18.12.2009)
• Leading causes of death men ages 15-64 year 2008 (18.12.2009)
• Leading causes of death women ages 15-64 year 2008 (18.12.2009)

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Last updated 18.12.2009