Years of life lost due to infectious diseases in Poland

PURPOSE: An evaluation of mortality due to infectious diseases in Poland in 1999–2012 and an analysis of standard expected years of life lost due to the above diseases. METHODS: The study material included a database created on the basis of 5,219,205 death certificates of Polish inhabitants, gathered between 1999 and 2012 and provided by the Central Statistical Office. Crude Death Rates (CDR), Standardized Death Rates (SDR) and Standard Expected Years of Life Lost (SEYLL) due to infectious and parasitic diseases were also evaluated in the study period as well as Standard Expected Years of Life Lost per living person (SEYLL(p)) and Standard Expected Years of Life Lost per dead person (SEYLL(d)). Time trends were evaluated with the application of joinpoint models and an annual percentage change in their values. RESULTS: Death certificates report that 38,261 people died due to infectious diseases in Poland in the period 1999–2012, which made up 0.73% of the total number of deaths. SDR caused by these diseases decreased, particularly in the male group: Annual Percentage Change (APC = -1.05; 95% CI:-2.0 to -0.2; p<0.05). The most positive trends were observed in mortality caused by tuberculosis (A15-A19) (APC = -5.40; 95% CI:-6.3 to -4.5; p<0.05) and also meningitis, encephalitis, myelitis and encephalomyelitis (G03-G04) (APC = -3.42; 95% CI:-4.7 to -2.1; p<0.05). The most negative mortality trends were observed for intestinal infectious diseases (A00-A09) Annual Average Percentage Change (AAPC = 7.3; 95% CI:3.1 to 11.7; p<0.05). SDR substantially decreased in the first half of the study period, but then significantly increased in the second half. Infectious and parasitic diseases contributed to a loss of around 37,000 standard expected years of life in 1999 and more than 28,000 in 2012. During the study period, the SEYLL(p) index decreased from 9.59 to 7.39 per 10,000 population and the SEYLL(d) index decreased from 14.26 to 10.34 years (AAPC = 2.3; 95% CI:-2,9 to -1.7; p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Despite smaller numbers of deaths reported from infectious causes these diseases still represent a serious problem for Poland compared to countries in Western Europe.