More premature deaths in Wallonia than in Flanders

Flanders scores better than Wallonia in terms of premature death, or people who die before 75 years of age, according to figures released today by the Scientific Institute of Public Health (WIV-ISP) and the Free University of Brussels (VUB). The figures relate to the period 2003-2009, and show strong regional differences. They also reveal that Belgian men are twice as likely to die prematurely than women, writes De Standaard.

In Wallonia, the average premature death rate among men is 40% higher than in Flanders, and 30% higher among women. The premature death rate among men in Mons and Charleroi, for instance, is 80% higher than that in Maaseik, Halle-Vilvoorde and Roeselare.

A number of factors play a role in widening the gap between Belgium’s north and south counterparts, according to WIV-ISP. "The global socio-economic context and the individual social status, of course, play a major role, but so do cultural habits, lifestyle and environmental and genetic factors.”

Over-consumption of alcohol and tobacco play a role in many of the premature deaths by a number of cancers, such as cancer of the lips, mouth, pharynx, larynx and oesophagus, for which the figures are the highest near the Belgian-French border, with a noticeable decline at a distance from the border.