Headlines - State of Public Health

In May 2017, the Directorate of Research, Studies, Evaluation, and Statistics and Santé publique France jointly published a report on "The Health Status of the Population in France." This reference work, compiled in collaboration with all health data producers, describes trends in the health status of the population and its main determinants.

Overall, the French population is in good health... Life expectancy is high, and all-cause mortality continues to decline, although the burden of premature deaths remains significant and morbidity from chronic diseases is not decreasing. Health-risk behaviors persist: smoking, heavy episodic drinking, being overweight, insufficient consumption of fruits and vegetables and lack of physical activity, and an increase in sexually transmitted infections. Trends are unfavorable among women under 65, particularly with regard to the incidence of lung cancer and the hospitalization rate for COPD exacerbations, which are rising sharply: "One of the main causes of these adverse trends is well known: it is tobacco, the consumption of which among women has not decreased over the past 40 years. Nearly a quarter of women smoke daily, so reducing smoking remains a major public health priority." (Michel Vernay, epidemiologist, Santé publique France).

From a very young age, social and regional health inequalities are pronounced. Working conditions also have a significant impact on health, with risks (exposure to carcinogens, factors contributing to physical strain) unevenly distributed across socio-professional categories. Certain environmental exposures or an uneven distribution of healthcare services are also factors contributing to regional disparities.

This report includes a section titled “Regional Profiles,” produced in collaboration with the National Federation of Regional Health Observatories (Fnors): the specific characteristics of each region are described using national data sources (the main ones being vital statistics, death certificates, disease registries, notifiable diseases, health surveys conducted through interviews or health examinations, and more recently, data on healthcare utilization and consumption), as well as local studies such as the Regional Health and Environment Plan.

We have included the four-page profile of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in today’s PE. It highlights the existence of regional health inequalities within the region.