Europe

Respiratory conditions have a significant societal and economic cost, with the burden negatively affecting healthcare systems, impacting the lives of patients and their families, lowering productivity and widening the gap in life expectancy between the poorest and wealthiest.

There is a gap in policy commitment, especially around prevention and diagnosis, for the most frequently diagnosed respiratory conditions, despite a continued rise in incidence and mortality rates across Europe.

In 2023, eight major lung conditions had a significant impact across the population in the WHO European Region:

Deaths (mortality)

approximately 122 deaths per 100,000 population – approximately 1.2 million deaths*

Total cases (prevalence)

approximately 10,210 cases per 100,000 population – approximately 96.6 million cases*

New cases (incidence)

approximately 2,341 new cases per 100,000 population – approximately 22.0 million new cases*

Societal cost (monetised DALYs)

€ 794.6 billion is the estimated societal cost

*‎Data provided by the Global Burden of Disease Study 2023 on the burden of 8 major respiratory conditions (asthma, COPD, LRTIs, ILDs, lung cancer, PAH, TB and mesothelioma) in the WHO European Region in 2023

**An estimate of economic burden (monetised disability-adjusted life years) for 8 major respiratory conditions (asthma, COPD, LRTIs, ILDs, lung cancer, PAH, TB and mesothelioma) in the WHO European region in 2023. Read more about this calculation.