Summary
In 2013, the endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases originated 5.4% of deaths, being the 5th biggest cause of death in the country (5 773). Three decades before, these diseases accounted for 1.6% of the total of deaths.
Diabetes mellitus caused 4.3% of deaths occurred in 2013, accounting for almost 80% of deaths due to endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases. That year, deaths caused by this disease have reached 4 546 thousand people, of which 58% were women (2 636 deaths).
Also in 2013, 4 683 potential years of life were lost due to the diabetes mellitus, i.e., on average, 7.9 years of life, considering the deaths of people younger than 70 years old (595 persons). The potential years of life lost is an indicator of the loss that premature deaths represent to society, accounting for the number of years not lived by those dying before reaching 70 years of age.
Alentejo and the Região Autónoma dos Açores were the most affected regions, with more than 60 deaths per 100 thousand inhabitants, with women outstanding with more than 80 deaths per 100 mil inhabitants.
The total number of deaths due to diabetes mellitus more than doubled between 1983 (1 237 deaths) and 2013 (4 546 deaths), with an average increase of 4.4% per year in that period. That concurs to the gap between the national indicators and those for the EU-28. Indeed, in proportion, more people die of diabetes mellitus in Portugal than in the European Union.