Scots deaths plummet to a 30-year low, but welcome is cautious

Published on Thursday 11 June 2009 22:03

DEATH rates in Scotland are at their lowest level in 30 years, according to the latest statistics.

Between January and March this year, 14,830 deaths were registered in Scotland, 242 fewer than in the same quarter of 2008, figures from the General Register Office for Scotland released yesterday showed.

There were around one in 20 fewer deaths from stroke and coronary heart disease compared to the first quarter last year, and one in 50 fewer cancer deaths over the same period.

Last night, health campaigners gave the figures a cautious welcome, saying part of the decrease in mortality rates could be due to more successful treatment of "at-risk" sectors of the population.

Andy Carver, prevention and care advisor for British Heart Foundation Scotland, said: "It's important to look at longer-term trends.

"There has been a steady downturn in heart deaths over the last decade but the speed has slowed in recent years so we must not be complacent.

"Scotland has the worst rate of heart disease in the UK and our figures show this illness caused almost 10,000 deaths in Scotland in 2006.

However, there are different factors helping to cut the toll, including better treatments, better early recognition of heart disease by GPs, specific projects to assess people most at risk and campaigns to reduce smoking and increase activity."

While the mortality rate from strokes has fallen, it is still the greatest single cause of severe disability in Scotland and the third most common cause of death.

Each year around 12,500 people suffer a stroke in Scotland, resulting in just over 4,000 deaths annually.

Angela Macleod, communications manager for the Stroke Association in Scotland, said: "It is interesting to see that stroke deaths have fallen in Scotland and this is good news.

"There are a number of different factors that can contribute to this, from reducing overall stroke risk to better identification and treatment of mini strokes.

"But there is no doubt that getting good acute care in a stroke can be very significant in reducing mortality from stroke."

The figures also showed that the number of births has also dropped by 600 compared to the first quarter of last year.

There were 14,505 births registered in the first three months of 2009, although this is still almost 300 more than the same period in 2007.

Duncan Macniven, registrar-general for Scotland, said: "

Death rates fluctuate through the year and quarterly data can't be taken as indicative of the year ahead.

"Similarly, the decrease in births this quarter doesn't mean that the rise in the number of births since 2002 has ended.

"There have been occasional quarterly decreases during that period and the most recent four quarters taken together had more births than the equivalent period a year earlier."

Marriages and civil partnerships also dropped in the first quarter of 2009 compared to the same period last year.