Press release 1/12/2011
42.9% of people admitted to basque hospitals in 2010 were 65 or over
Cataracts and heart failure were the main causes of admission
Hospitals in the Basque Country registered 318,194 discharges of hospitalised patients in 2010 (0.5% up on 2009), according to Eustat data. 74% corresponded to public hospitals and 26% to private hospitals.
42.9% of people 65 or over were admitted mainly due to pathologies linked to the nervous system and sensory organs (cataracts) and the respiratory system (heart failure) and were the reasons for both becoming the main causes of hospitalisation.
Specifically, diseases of the nervous system and sensory organs represented 12.1% of admissions and diseases of the circulatory system represented 11.5%. They were followed by digestive system diseases (11.1%), and fourth and fifth place were occupied by tumours and osteomuscular diseases (9.1% and 8.6%, respectively).
The average hospital stay, which stood at 6.1 days in 2010, dropped by 3.2% compared to the previous year. Without taking into account mental disorders, perinatal diseases were those that caused the longest stays (12.3 days), followed by infectious diseases and tumours (9.1 days and 8.4 days, respectively).
Of the total number of people hospitalised, 51.7% were women, exceeding the number of men due to admissions for pregnancy and births. Furthermore, the most common age for hospitalisation was 76.
In men, diseases of the circulatory system were the main reason for hospitalisation, accounting for 13.8% of admissions, and were more frequent in older patients; amongst these diseases mention should be made of coronary arteriosclerosis and heart failure. They were followed by diseases affecting the digestive system (13.3%), amongst which the inguinal hernia stood out, and those affecting the nervous system and sensory organs (10.6%) with cataracts being clearly predominant.
Without taking into account pregnancy-related admissions, which represent the main reason for hospitalisation for women (15.8%), both sexes coincided in the three large groups of the most frequent diseases, although in a different order.
Cataracts, quite a common pathology in women 65 or over (12,613 admissions), situated the nervous system and sensory organs as the second cause of admissions in the case of women (13.4%). In third place was the circulatory system (9.4%), where varicose veins and heart failure were the most common diseases. Fourth place corresponded to the digestive system (9%), with gallstones amongst the most frequent pathologies.
Other groups of common diseases (more than 20,000 discharges) were tumours, osteomuscular diseases and those of the respiratory system. The most frequent tumours found corresponded to the prostate, stomach, breast and uterus. Tumours continued to be the main cause of death in hospitals (24.6%), with trachea, bronchial and lung cancer standing out for this reason. The average age of death due to this cause was 67.
Osteomuscular diseases, linked to ageing, such as osteoarthritis, were ahead of those of the respiratory system that, in turn, dropped to 8.3% with respect to 2009, due to the fall in cases of influenza and pneumonia.
For further information:
Basque Statistics Office
C/ Donostia-San Sebastián, 1 01010 Vitoria-Gasteiz
Tel: +34-945-01 75 00 Fax:+34-945-01 75 01 E-mail: eustat@eustat.es
Contact: Marta de la Torre Fernández
Tel:+34-945-01 75 48 Fax:+34-945-01 75 01
Further press releases on Hospital Admission and Discharge Statistics
Hospital Admission and Discharge Statistics databank