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Health Condition of people in the Lodz Region

 

Łódź Province takes the 9th place in Poland in terms of size. It includes 21 districts (so-called poviats), 3 towns with poviat rights and 177 communes (18 municipal, 132 country and 24 municipal and country ones). On December 31, 2004 the number of inhabitants amounted to 2,587,702 (the 6^th biggest population in Poland).

Average population density amounted to 143 people/1 km² (Poland: 122 people/km²) and was significantly higher in municipal (1,500/km²) than in rural areas (53/km²). The population density for various poviats ran from 49 people/km² in Poddębice Poviat to 244 people/km² in Pabianice Poviat. The majority of Łódź Province inhabitants – 64.7% of the total number (i.e. 1,674,882) lived in towns and cities, whereas the remaining 35.3% (912,820) lived in rural areas. Women made up 52.3% of the total number of inhabitants (1,353,956) and men – 47.7% (1,233,746). The men/women ratio was 100/110, with the feminisation coefficient higher in municipal areas (114 women for 100 men) than in rural ones (101/100).

Demographical forecasts prepared by the Central Statistical Office (GUS) for the years 2005, 2010, 2015 and 2020 concerning the Province as a whole and particular poviats have shown that the number of inhabitants will be steadily decreasing. By 2020, the number of inhabitants of Łódź Province will have decreased by 177,273 people, including 79,498 men and 92,775 women. Experts assume that only two districts in the Province (Bełchatów and Łódź) will record an increase in the number of inhabitants in comparison with the year 2003. The forecasts including the division of the whole population into people in pre-working, working and retirement age indicate a major decrease in the number of individuals in pre-working (by about 150,000) and working age (by about 189,000), whereas the number of people in retirement age will increase by about 167,000.

Ageing population is characteristic of Łódź region in terms of demographic tendencies in recent years. Within the last few years, the number of pre-production individuals has been steadily falling, in contrast to the number of inhabitants in retirement age. In 2003, the percentage of pre-production-age individuals was 19.9 % (in Poland: 21.9 %), whereas for production age it was 63.0% (Poland: 62.9 %), and finally 17.1 % of people in retirement age (Poland: 15.2 %). Men constitute the dominating fraction in the pre-production- and production-age groups (21.35 % and 67.4 % respectively), whereas women make up the majority within the retirement-age group (22.5 %).

The phenomenon of ageing society observed in the Province has a major influence on the patterns of the incidence and occurrence of various diseases, especially chronic ones and those related to the circulatory, respiratory, digestive and locomotor system, as well as cancer. Furthermore, due to the fact that individuals in retirement age are the most frequent users of the medical benefit system, this group has a direct influence on the number of health care facilities and their specific offer granted both in terms of outpatient and inpatient health service.

In 2004, in Łódź Province there were recorded 22,473 live births (697 more than in 2003) and 30,463 deaths (404 less than in 2003). The biggest number of children was born in Łódź and Zgierz Poviat, but these districts also recorded the highest number of deaths. In 2004, live birth ratio per 1,000 people in the Province amounted to 8.65 and was higher than in the previous year. It is worth pointing put that between 2001 and 2003 there was a clear upward trend in this respect. In the same year, in rural areas this ratio amounted to 9.5 in comparison to 8.19 in municipal areas. In terms of the live birth ratio, Łódź Province took the penultimate place in Poland (with the overall ratio for Poland at 9.20). It must be mentioned that the birth structure analysis in terms of the weight at birth in living newborns in Poland in 2003 showed that the highest national percentage of newborns with low weight at birth was noted in Łódź Province: 6.95 %, with the Polish average around 5.93 %.

In 2003, women’s fertility indicator, being the number of live births per 1,000 women between 15 and 49 years of age, amounted to 32.8 and was lower than in the years 1999 – 2002. The comparison of this indicator recorded in Łódź Province with the overall indicator for Poland in 2003 showed that it was lower in nearly all age groups in the Province. The exception was the group of women at 20–24 years of age for whom it amounted to 89.3 which made it slightly higher than the national average being 88.1. 

After the decrease in the number of deaths recorded between 2000-2002, it raised again in 2003. For Łódź Province it amounted to 30,867 deaths, 280 more than in 2002 (although 620 less than in 2001 and 1,094 less than in 2000). In 2003, the death rate per 1,000 inhabitants of the Province was the highest in Poland (about 9.6/1,000 people in the national scale) and amounted to 11.8. The same indicator for the years 2001-2002 was about 11.9 in 2001 as compared to 11.7 in 2002. The death rate per 1,000 people was definitely higher in rural areas than in towns and cities (12.6 as compared to 11.5) and, by gender, decisively higher in men than women (12.9 vs. 10.9 respectively). Furthermore, there is a strong trend towards the so-called overmortality of men which manifests as a major difference between the number of deaths in men and women. Men in the province die more often than women in virtually all age groups, sometimes with differences amounting to as much as several hundred percent. 

Population growth rate in the Province in absolute numbers amounted to (–7,990) or (–3.08)/1,000 people, so it was the lowest in Poland. In rural areas it was about (–2,655) or (–2.98)/1,000 people, whereas in municipal ones it amounted to (-5,335) or (–3.18)/1,000 individuals. The lowest population growth rate was recorded in 2004 in Łódź (-5.84).

In 2004, there were 124 infant deaths recorded (29 less than in 2003). Infant death rate per 1,000 life births decreased from 7.03 in 2003 to 5.52, with (7.19) in municipal areas in comparison to (6.77) in rural ones. The overall rate for Poland in 2003 amounted to 7.04. The main causes of infant deaths were illnesses stemming from the perinatal stage (over 53% of recorded deaths) and congenital diseases (30.9 %).

The average life expectancy in 2003 in Łódź Province depending on age amounted to: for male newborns: 68.96 years, for female newborns – 78.06 years. Both numbers were lower than the Polish average which amounted 70.52 years for men and 78.9 for women and, in addition, the lowest in Poland. In comparison, in 2002 the average life expectancy at birth in Łódź Province was 68.48 years for men and 77.85 years for women.

Average age at death in 2004 in the whole province was 68.86 years, i.e. 65.49 for men and 72.63 for women. It is worth pointing out that the inhabitants of municipal areas (average age at death 68.23 years) tended to die earlier than those in rural areas (average age at death 69.91 years). In recent years the age of people at death has been growing systematically. In 2001 the average age of the deceased was 68.14 years (men – 64.73, women – 71.96 years, inhabitants of municipal areas – 67.27, population of rural areas – 69.63 years). In the year 2004 the above trend seemed to be interrupted, but experts hope that it was merely an incidental fluctuation which will not have further repercussions in the years to come.