Health in Germany

Abstract

All in all, people in Germany are fine. About three quarters consider their health as good or very good. Life expectancy is rising, and thanks to improvements in prevention, diagnostics and therapy, less people are dying from cardiovascular diseases and cancer. However, the growing numbers of obesity and diabetes mellitus are of major concern; mental disorders also need more attention. These are some of the conclusions of the new report "Health in Germany". It provides a profound overview of the status and development of human health in our country. A broad database was included in order to represent the most important diseases and risk factors, changes in the disease spectrum, the use of prevention and the quality of health care (also compared to the rest of Europe). The report shows that there are two major developments essentially determining health and healthcare in Germany: the demographic changes which, among other things, lead to more chronical diseases and the strong influence of the social situation on health. It provides crucial information and orientation for politicians, doctors, scientists and everyone who shapes the processes and measures to improve health. It hence supports evidence-based decisions for more health in Germany. It is the third comprehensive report of this kind in the Federal Health Reporting; the two former reports have been published in 1998 and 2006 (English translation in 2008).