Covid remained a top killer in Luxembourg

Covid-19 remained the third-leading cause of death in Luxembourg in 2021 behind cancer and heart disease, which together accounted for almost half of all deaths, health officials said on Thursday.

Covid took 437 lives in 2021, representing 10% of the 4,338 deaths that year, the last for which detailed statistics have been released. 

Cancer was the leading cause of death in Luxembourg, taking over for heart-related diseases, which was the country's top killer in 2020, the national health department said.

Diseases accounted for 94% of all deaths, while accidents and other external factors caused less than 6%, the annual report said. 

Deaths were roughly equally divided between women and men. The average age for men at death was 75 in 2021, while women lived until 81 on average, the report said.

The main mortal diseases for men were lung cancer followed by prostate and colon cancers. For women, the leading fatal illnesses were, in decreasing order, breast, lung and pancreatic cancer.

The number of breast amputations in Luxembourg due to cancer has risen by 12% in just five years, the health ministry said in January, meaning roughly one in every 600 women in the country had to undergo the treatment in 2021.

Doctors carried out 602 mastectomies on 513 women two years ago to treat breast cancer, Health Minister Paulette Lenert said in a written response to a parliamentary question, a rise from 535 such surgeries in 2017. 

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