Britain’s Biggest Killer Revealed…

A report released by the Office for National Statistics has revealed the leading causes of death within England and Wales, providing statistics relating to a range of causes of death including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and dementia.

The report revealed heart disease to be the biggest killer of men and women living in England and Wales. Statistics showed that the disease was responsible for 1 in 5 deaths of men and 1 in 6 of females. The second biggest killer of men and women was found to be cerebrovascular diseases, with strokes being the main cause of death.

The report also revealed the following as major causes of death:

• Cancer of trachea, bronchus and lung was the 3rd biggest killer of men and the 6th for women;
• Influenza and pneumonia was the third leading cause of death for women;
• Dementia was the 9th biggest killer of men and the 4th for women;
• Breast cancer was the 7th biggest killer of women and prostate cancer the 6th biggest killer for men.

Deaths registered as being related to clostridium difficile, a bacteria that causes severe infection in the intestine, were found to have increased rapidly between 1999 to 2004 going from 975 cases to 2,247 in 5 years. The report also found that:

• Deaths relating to clostridium difficile were higher in individuals aged 65 and above;
• 92.4% of the deaths related to this harmful bacteria occurred in NHS hospitals.

Clare Griffiths and Cleo Rooney analysed statistics and trends in deaths related to Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and dementia between 1979-2004 and found:

• Deaths related to Alzheimer’s increased by 8 times for men and 12 for women
• Between the same period deaths related to Parkinson’s disease decreased by 22% for men and 32% for women
• Between 1985 and 2004 deaths related to dementia increased for women and stayed relatively constant for men.

Suffering from any of the illnesses mentioned above can place great strain upon any individual including your family and friends who would be there to support you. Many choose to financially protect themselves against such illnesses whether it is a life and critical illness plan or income protection there are ways to ensure your finances are taken care of.