Europe’s ‘death map’ shows Spain provides a backdrop for a much longer life

There have been innumerable studies highlighting the health benefits of a Mediterranean diet, but now for the first time ever the British Medical Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health has put together a ‘Death Map’ that shows just how much longer people from Mediterranean countries live than their northern European counterparts…

The slightly morbid map highlights a distinct divide in the continent, chiefly between the richer west and poorer east, but also tellingly between the chilly north – think wealthy, high public-spending Scandinavia – and the sunny south.

The study found that people who live in Spain, Italy, southern and western France and Andorra can expect to enjoy a higher life expectancy than those living in the UK, Scandinavia and the Netherlands.

The diet of the more southern countries is widely believed to be the cause for this longevity, with people in Spain, Italy and France consuming a higher proportion of fresh fruit, vegetables, oily fish and olive oil, and less red meat and processed food.

Combined with a warmer climate and world-class healthcare systems, citizens of these countries can expect not just a longer life, but a longer active lifestyle too – the proportion of ‘healthy’ people aged 75 and over in Mediterranean countries is far higher than elsewhere. Basically, modern healthcare can keep Brits alive for longer, but not necessarily in the best of shape.

The study found that in the decade up to 2011, the number of elderly people aged between 75-84 grew by the highest percentage in largely Mediterranean countries, and extended further still in the 85-94 age bracket.

In poorer Mediterranean countries such as Greece and Portugal, as well as the poorer parts of southern Italy (and, yes, southern Spain), life expectancy was closer to that of northern Europe, which highlights the role that relative wealth plays, too.

However, if money were the only cure, then the rich Scandinavian countries would be offering the longest life expectancy, but that is evidently not the case.

“Old-age survival is strongly determined by mortality after 85 years of age, which is mainly caused by cardiovascular disease (CVD), which accounts for 42% of the deaths in Europe,” said the University of Porto’s Dr. Ana Isabel Ribeiro.

“Indeed, the current pattern of CVD mortality to some extent matches our pattern of survival – lower rates are found in northern Spain and all over France.

“Individual risk factors such as smoking, blood pressure, diet, physical activity, alcohol intake and socioeconomic status are established risk factors for CVD at the individual level.

“Post-industrial regions such as West Central Scotland, the France-Belgium border or Merseyside have been characterised by high poverty levels and an erosion of social cohesion.”