Unhealthy lifestyle trends play a major role in death rate in Turkey, where heart condition diseases cause nearly 40 % of all deaths, according to a recent survey by the Turkish Statistical Institute, the Turkstat.

“Circulatory diseases result from lifestyle choices or standarts, from smoking to lack of exercise, and from what people eat,” informed Dr. Sabahat Tezcan from the Public Health Department at Ankara’s Hacettepe University. Another problem is the growing number of Turks who suffer from obesity.

The TurkStat report shows that the top three causes of death in Turkey are circulatory diseases, with 39.9 %; cancer and malignant tumors, with 20.7 %; and respiratory diseases, with 8.9 %. The report was based on around 280,500 known cases of death in 2009.

Smoke like a Turk : Turks die 40% of cancer

“Many people, especially children and women in Turkey, start smoking at an early age. Another problem is the growing number of Turks who suffer from obesity; this is not just about the food consumption habits in Turkey, but also how food in this country is produced,” expressed Dr. Tezcan, adding that the same trends are being seen in many developed countries. As Turkey peoples’s health condition is effected negatively by Turkey’s fast development in industry, food trends like pastry and too salty dishes doesn’t help to improve as well. “In the past, infections caused many deaths but now this has changed,” the concerned doctor continued.

Of the nearly 300 000 deaths in 2009 studied by TurkStat, 111,830 were attributed to circulatory diseases, which mainly include cardiovascular diseases and high blood pressure stem from salt, fat and smoking.

Turkey Death rate and mortality causes

The second-highest cause of mortality was listed as malignant tumors. The five most common cancerous tumors were reported to be esophagus, trachea, bronchitis and lung tumors with 31.4 percent; stomach tumors with 8.6 percent; lymphoid and hematopoietic tumors with 8.6 percent; colon tumors with 6.3 percent; and pancreas tumors with 5 percent.

Turks are getting obese, growing industry doesn’t help

Smoking rates in Turkey are also quite high, said Mustafa Aydın, head of the Fight against Smoking Association. “Some 22 million people were reported to be smokers in 2009. With the current campaigns against smoking we estimate that this number will decrease to 19 million by the end of 2011. However, the number is very high compared to other countries,” Aydın stated. According to the TurkStat report, 18,210 people died in 2009 of esophagus and trachea tumors; 15,627 of them were men.

The third-highest cause of death was listed as respiratory diseases, primarily upper respiratory tract infections and pneumonia.

The report also states that a total of 43 people had died due to AIDS in 2009. However according to Nejat Ünlü, head of the Positive Life Association the number of AIDS-related deaths is higher than reported.