From the point of view of a European citizen, the Spanish health system is a benchmark. Spain is not one of the countries that invests the most in health , neither in terms of GDP – 8.9%, almost one point below the European average, which is 9.8% – nor in per capita terms -2,371 euros in 2017, 15% below the European average-, but it is definitely one of the best results obtained.
83.4 years
That was the life expectancy in our country in 2017, 2.5 years above the average of its European neighbors. The Spanish population is less likely to die from preventable deaths and has higher cancer survival rates.
However, quantity and quality do not always go hand in hand, and health is a good example. Spaniards, yes, enjoy the highest life expectancy in the European Union , but part of that longevity is lived in worse conditions. It is the first balance that shows “The state of health in Spain”, included in the report The state of health in the EU , prepared by the European Commission, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the Observatory European Health Systems and Policies.
Older people make up a growing percentage of our population. In 1980, one Spaniard in nine was sixty-five years old or older. Today, one in five is in that band, and the proportion continues to rise, with a forecast of reaching more than one in three by 2050 . Adding years to life is the great success of a health system that, however, has a pending issue: adding life to years. Almost 60% of Spaniards aged sixty-five years or older suffer from at least one chronic disease , and more than one in five experiences at least one limitation in daily activities, such as eating and dressing. In addition, almost 40% suffer from symptoms of depression… Data that are above the European average.
The increase in life expectancy responds to many factors. As Cristian Herrera, an OECD analyst, explained, mortality rates have generally decreased for the vast majority of causes, except for two: Alzheimer’s and dementia. This is explained not only by the aging population itself, but by the fact that dementia is now being diagnosed more.
Another reason is in the public health policies that in recent years have addressed the fight against tobacco, food safety or healthy nutrition. Experts ask not to relax, because, if we talk about prevention, Spain is not in a position to lower its guard: more than a third of deaths can be attributed to risk factors. In 2017, around 67,000 were linked to smoking; 52,000, to risks related to food; 32,000, to the consumption of alcohol; and about 9,500, to sedentary lifestyle.
By Carlos B. Rodríguez
