Nearly one in three deaths in West Lothian last year were “avoidable”.
New stats have revealed that of the 5,301 registered deaths in the county between 2019 and 2021, some 1,556 were classed as preventable or treatable, with cancer being the biggest cause.
The total number of people dying of preventable illnesses was 29.4 per cent, meaning one in three deaths could have been avoided by changes in diet and lifestyle.
The reasons for death include covid, cancer, heart disease and other circulatory diseases.
Scotland has the highest rate of preventable deaths in the UK.
More than a quarter of all deaths in Scotland in 2021 were avoidable, according to analysis by National Records of Scotland (NRS).
A spokesperson for Cancer Research UK said cancers were one of the most common causes of avoidable mortality in Scotland in 2021, accounting for 28 per cent of all avoidable deaths.
Julia Cotterill, health information officer at Cancer Research UK, said it’s important that people know the risk factors.
She said: “A big part of reducing cancer deaths, is stopping people from getting cancer in the first place.
“Around four in 10 cancer cases in the UK could be prevented, and making positive changes can make a big difference if we stick to them.
“Not smoking, keeping a healthy weight and staying safe in the sun all help to stack the odds in our favour.”
Some 28 per cent of the 63,587 deaths registered last year in Scotland were considered preventable or treatable.
Julie Ramsay, Head of Vital Events Statistics, at NRS said: “Avoidable mortality doesn’t impact everyone equally.
“The rate of avoidable deaths in the most deprived areas was over four times the rate of those in the least deprived areas.”e, avoidable mortality rates among males were 1.6 times as high as those among females.”
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