Public Health has shared mortality trends to highlight lifestyle factors that may influence lifespan.
The report covers recorded deaths on Guernsey and Alderney between 2022 and 2024.
In that time, 1,970 deaths were registered - that is an average of 657 per year.
We've seen a slight increase since the early 2000s, which Public Health attributes to the ageing population.
The graph below highlights that 2022 had the highest level of so-called "excess deaths" in the last 15 years.
16% of recorded deaths, which is around 1 in 6, were considered avoidable - this is much lower than the equivalent rate for England but similar to Jersey’s.
The report also states neoplasms - which are tumours including cancer - were the leading cause of death in Guernsey, accounting for 27%.
Other leading causes of death include circulatory diseases (26%), respiratory diseases (11%) and mental and behavioural disorders (11%).
The proportion of deaths with Dementia or Alzheimer’s as an underlying cause has continued to increase over the last 3 years, from 10.0% to 14.1%.
Life expectancy is 81.9 years for men and 85.4 years for women.
Director of Public Health, Dr Nicola Brink, says the report is important.
“Examining causes of death at population level is important because it can reveal factors which are having tangible effects on local people and their families by shortening lives, and many of those are modifiable.
“The report tells us, for example, that around one in six deaths are preventable or treatable.
"Giving up smoking, maintaining a healthy weight, staying physically active, preventing disease through vaccination, increasing usage of screening services and drinking alcohol responsibly are factors that work for prevention.
“The report also confirms the negative effects of alcohol in our community as alcohol-specific deaths are shown to be one of the top contributory causes of years of life lost.
"Reducing this needs to be a serious ambition for our islands going forward, and we are committed to working towards that goal.”
The full report is available at gov.gg/publichealthinfo
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