The principal life-threatening illnesses fall into the categories of diseases of the circulatory system and malignant neoplasms. Taken together these two areas of disease account for over 60% of deaths each year in Ireland. Extensive research into these and other significant causes of both morbidity and mortality continues to be conducted internationally and within Ireland.
Monitoring of population health takes place at a number of levels - nationally, at EU level, and internationally. This includes vital statistics on causes of death, notification of infectious diseases, disease registers, data on hospital discharges, and population-based health survey data. The reasons for higher or lower prevalence and/or mortality by region and across countries can vary according to the condition and can be due to a range of factors. These may include lifestyle determinants, genetic variables, socio-economic factors, demographic variations and a number of other potential explanatory variables. Much of the public health research into major causes of morbidity and mortality is devoted to increasing our understanding of these underlying causes to improve both treatment and prevention.
Health research projects in Ireland, including those related to principal life-threatening illnesses, can take place in many fora including Universities, hospitals and research projects funded by my Department through the Health Research Board etc. Information on these research projects is not readily available in my Department.
