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Jerusalem, August 17, 2010
188/2010
Causes of Death in Israel - 2008
The Central Bureau of Statistics has released data on the causes of death in Israel for the year 2008. Data
series showing crude and age-standardized death rates by cause from 1998 to 2008 (inclusive) can
be found on the CBS website.
In 2008 there were 39, 241 deaths in Israel, which represents half a percent (0.5%) of Israel's population in
that year. Of these, 49.7% were male and 50.3% were female.
Seventy-nine percent of the deceased were aged 65 and over (63% aged 75 and over and 32% aged 85
and over), 7% were under age 45, and 1.5% (605) were infants under one year of age.
As shown in Table 1, the ten most common causes of death in 2008 were responsible for 77% of the total
number of deaths in that year. The leading two causes of death were malignant neoplasms (cancer) and
heart diseases, together accounting for over 40% of all deaths in Israel.
Table 1: Distribution of Causes of Death in Israel, 2008
Causes of Death
No. of Deaths
Percentage of Total
Malignant Neoplasms (cancer)
10,124
25.8
Heart diseases
6,782
17.3
Diabetes
2,453
6.3
Respiratory diseases
2,204
5.6
Cerebrovascular diseases (stroke)
2,044
5.2
External causes
2,035
5.2
Infectious diseases
1,531
3.9
Renal diseases
1,458
3.7
Pneumonia
996
2.5
Arteriosclerosis and other vascular
428
diseases
1.1
Other diseases
9,186
23.4
Total
39,241
100.0
Written by Dafna Huerta, Health and Vital Statistics Unit
For explanations please contact the Press Relations Unit, at 02-6527845
Men and Women
Malignant neoplasms and heart disease are the two most common causes of death in both sexes
(Diagram 1). The most prevalent form of cancer among men is cancer of the trachea, the bronchus and
the lungs (21.5% of all cancer-related deaths), while among women it is breast cancer (19.3% of all
cancer-related deaths).
External causes (which include transport and other accidents, suicide, and homicide) ranked as the third
most common cause of death among males and the eighth among females. Within this group comparison
of men and women is of particular interest for two causes - road accidents and suicide. Transport
accidents account for 1.7% of all male deaths compared to 0.5% of all female deaths (3.4 times higher),
and suicide accounts for 1.5% of deaths among men compared to 0.3% among women.
Diagram 1: Distribution of Causes of Death among Males and Females, 2008
Males
Other
23.2%
Females
Malignant neoplasms
25.4%
Other
22.1%
Hypertension
1.6%
Hypertension
2.7%
Pneumonia
2.6%
Pneumonia
2.5%
a
Infectious diseases
4.1%
Renal diseases
3.4%
diseases
Brain vascular diseases
5.7%
Respiratory diseases
5.7%
Malignant neoplasms
25.5%
Heart disease
17.0%
Diabetes
6.9%
Infectious diseases
3.7%
Rental diseases
4.1%
diseases
Brain vascular diseases
4.7%
External causes
3.3%
Respiratory diseases
5.5%
Heart disease
17.5%
Diabetes
5.6%
External causes
7.1%
Age Groups
The distribution of causes of death varies by age. Among infants and toddlers (ages 0-4) perinatal
conditions (conditions of the fetus during pregnancy and birth) are the major cause of death – 34.3% of all
deaths; during childhood (ages 5-14) one-half of deaths occur due to malignant neoplasms and external
causes (each approximately one-quarter of all deaths); in the 15-44 age group external causes are the
leading cause of death (37.4%); in the 45-64 and 65-84 age groups malignant neoplasms are the primary
cause (42.3% and 29.1% respectively), and in the 85+ age group heart disease is the most common cause
of death (22.4%).
Death Causes in Israel – 2008 August 17, 2010
2
Population Groups
The distribution of causes of death differs between the Jewish and Arab population in Israel (Table 2).
Whereas malignant neoplasms and heart disease are responsible for 43.7% of deaths among Jews,
among Arabs these two causes together account for 37.6% of deaths. External causes was the third most
common cause of death in the Arab population, accounting for 8.9% of all deaths, compared to 4.5% in the
Jewish population where it ranked sixth. Diabetes ranks fourth among Arabs, at 7.7% of all cases of death
in this population group, compared to 6.1% among Jews, where it ranks third. Some of the differences
between Jews and Arabs in the distribution of death causes stem from differences in the age distribution
between the two populations, the Arab population being younger.
Table 2: Distribution of Causes of Death in Israel, 2008
Jews
Arabs
Percentage of
Percentage of all
all Deaths
Deaths
Malignant Neoplasms (cancer)
26.2
21.3
Heart disease
17.5
16.3
Diabetes
6.1
7.7
Respiratory disease
5.7
5.1
Cerebrovascular diseases (stroke)
5.3
4.8
External causes
4.5
8.9
Infectious diseases
4.0
3.0
Renal diseases
3.8
3.2
Pneumonia
2.6
2.3
Arteriosclerosis and other
1.1
Death Cause
vascular diseases
Other diseases
Total deaths
0.9
23.0
26.7
34,056
3,990
The age-standardized mortality rate1 is 1.4 times higher for Arabs than Jews. A comparison of agestandardized mortality rates from leading causes of death between Jews and Arabs shows a similar rate
for cancer in the two populations (1.1 times higher among Arabs than Jews), but a higher rate among
Arabs for heart disease, cerebrovascular diseases and respiratory diseases (1.7 times higher than Jews)
and for diabetes (2.2 times higher than Jews). Among Arabs, the standardized mortality rate from external
causes was 1.5 times higher than among Jews.
Age-standardized mortality rate – Mortality rate in the study population, had the age distribution in this population been
the same as for the standard population. Age adjustment enables comparing between populations that are differentiated
by their age composition.
Death Causes in Israel – 2008 August 17, 2010
3
1
Annual Trends
The distribution of causes of death in 2008 is similar to 2007, with slight differences that for the most part
maintain the annual trends in causes of death in Israel. In 2008 there was an increase of 1.2% in
malignant neoplasms, in contrast with a decrease of 1.1% in heart disease and cerebrovascular diseases.
A comparison of the distribution of causes of death in 2008 with earlier years shows significant differences
(Tables 3 and 4). In 1970, heart disease was the most common cause of death (29%), followed by
malignant neoplasms (16.5%). In recent years, malignant neoplasms have become the leading cause of
death (25.8%), with heart disease dropping to second place (17.3%). Diabetes and renal diseases, which
today account respectively for 6.3% and 3.7% of all deaths, accounted for 0.8% and 0.7% of deaths in
1970. In addition perinatal conditions were the fifth most common cause of death in 1970, whereas in
recent years they account for less than 1.5% of all deaths. The incidence of death from congenital
anomalies, which in the past accounted for 2.6% of all deaths, has declined to 1.7%. Infant mortality rates
have fallen sharply since the 1970s (from 24.2 per 1,000 live births in 1970 to 3.9 in 2008), and this has
been accompanied by a decline in the proportion of causes of death specific to infants.
Table 3: Distribution of Causes of
Table 4: Distribution of Causes of
death for the General Population
death for the General Population
2008
1970
Cause of Death
Pct.
Cause of Death
Pct.
Malignant neoplasms
25.8
Heart disease
29.0
Heart disease
17.3
Malignant neoplasms
16.5
Diabetes
6.3
Cerebrovascular diseases
12.5
Respiratory diseases
5.6
External causes
8.7
Cerebrovascular diseases
5.2
Perinatal conditions
3.8
External causes
5.2
Pneumonia
2.6
Infectious diseases
3.9
Congenital anomalies
2.6
Renal diseases
3.7
Infectious diseases
2.0
Pneumonia
2.5
Respiratory diseases
1.2
Arteriosclerosis and other
vascular diseases
1.1
1.2
Other diseases
23.4
Acute rheumatic fever and
chronic rheumatic heart
disease
Other diseases
19.9
Total: 39,241 deaths
100
Total: 20,146 deaths
100
Age-standardized mortality rates from all causes declined between 1970 and 2008 by 53%. Mortality
rates from ischemic heart disease (accounting for 70% of all deaths from heart disease) fell by 80%
(Diagram 2), corresponding to the decline in developed countries of the world. A parallel long-term decline
is apparent in the mortality rates from cerebrovascular diseases. In contrast, mortality rates from malignant
neoplasms fluctuate over the years, displaying only a very moderate decline overall.
Death Causes in Israel – 2008 August 17, 2010
4
Diagram 2: The Leading Causes of Death 1970-2008, Age-Adjusted Rates
210
Ischemic heart
disease
‫איסכמית‬
‫מחלת לב‬
Malignant‫שאתות‬
neoplasms
‫ממאירות‬
180
Cerebrovascular
diseases
‫במח‬
‫מחלות כלי דם‬
Adjusted rate per 100,000
100,000-‫שיעור מתוקנן ל‬
150
120
90
60
30
20
08
20
06
20
04
20
02
20
00
19
98
19
96
19
94
19
92
19
90
19
88
19
86
19
84
19
82
19
80
19
78
19
76
19
74
19
72
19
70
0
Year‫שנה‬
International Comparison
An international comparison of age-standardized mortality rates from leading causes of death between
OECD countries and Israel (2006), shows that Israel has lower mortality rates from cancer, ischemic heart
disease and cerebrovascular diseases than most OECD countries. The mortality rate from diabetes in
Israel is much higher than for other OECD countries, excepting Mexico which has a higher rate.
There are differences in the ranking of mortality rates from the different causes of death between Israeli
men and women and their counterparts in other OECD countries. Among men, the mortality rate from
cancer is very low compared to most OECD countries. Thus, although lung cancer is the most prevalent
cancer among Israeli men, the mortality rate from this disease among Israeli men is very low relative to
most OECD countries. Death rates from ischemic heart disease and cerebrovascular diseases rank lower
than in the majority of OECD countries as well.
Among Israeli women, the age-standardized mortality rate from cancer lies approximately at the mid-point
of the OECD ranking. The standardized rate from breast cancer is among the highest in the OECD, while
the standardized rate from lung cancer is relatively low, as is the standardized rate from ischemic heart
Death Causes in Israel – 2008 August 17, 2010
5
disease, although Israeli women rank higher than Israeli men. Israeli women lie very low in the ranking for
deaths caused by cerebrovascular diseases, as do Israeli men.
The standardized mortality rate for diabetes is extremely high both for Israeli men and women, and for
both sexes only Mexico has higher rates.
However, for both Israeli men and women, the standardized mortality rates from external causes, and
among them the rates for suicide, are much lower compared to other OECD countries.
Death Causes in Israel – 2008 August 17, 2010
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