Dresden/Erfurt (dpa/th) - Today's generation of over 50-year-olds in Thuringia lives much more unhealthily than before. This is the result of a representative study by AOK Plus, which evaluated the data of its policyholders aged 50 to 69. Of the 665,397 Thuringians in this age group, 297,708 and thus around 45 percent are insured with the largest statutory health insurance company in the Free State. According to the analysis presented on Tuesday, cardiovascular diseases and diabetes have been at a high level for years or have even increased.
"A lot is caused or exacerbated by unhealthy nutrition, too little exercise and a stressed psyche," said AOK CEO Rainer Striebel. As a result, widespread diseases continued to rise. According to the figures, in 2021 every second AOK insured person in Thuringia suffered from high blood pressure - a significant risk factor for cardiovascular diseases and thus also for heart attacks and strokes. According to this, every ninth insured person had cardiac arrhythmias. Every tenth insured person was diagnosed with coronary heart disease.
According to the AOK, the proportion of cardiovascular diseases increases with age, and men are affected much more frequently, it said. One cause of these diseases is obesity. "The 50+ generation is too fat in Thuringia," explained Striebel. According to the study, every fifth insured person was obese in 2021. Obesity and a lack of exercise often lead to type 2 diabetes mellitus: every sixth insured person in this age group suffered from it last year. Here, too, the numbers increase with age, and men are more frequently affected.
The sharp increase in mental illnesses in both men and women in this age group is also alarming. Overall, however, women are affected much more often. Addiction to alcohol and tobacco use is also increasing. In 2021, according to the information, every sixth insured person suffered from depression. Between 2016 and 2021, this is an increase of 10.2 percent. Every eighth insured person in Thuringia was diagnosed with mental and behavioral disorders through tobacco last year - an increase of 27.8 percent.
The figures also showed that the men were reluctant to take precautions. Women used screening tests more often, were more likely to be vaccinated and generally showed more personal responsibility for their health.
