Leading causes of premature mortality among adult Roma in Slovenia

Abstract The average age at death among Roma is 14.3 years lower than among the general population. We examined which disease groups are the leading causes of mortality up to the age of 64 among Roma compared to the general population. We selected residents of Roma settlements from the Slovenian population register and used mortality data for the period 2018-2022 (Dead Person Database). We compared the average age at death by age and gender and analyzed the data with the SPSS program (IMB SPSS Statistics 25). For statistical analysis, we used: basic statistics for means and proportions, two-tailed t-tests for comparing means (assuming equal variances), z-tests for comparing proportions. Statistically significant differences were determined with a p-value < 0.05 (95% CI) and Bonferroni correction. Although cancer is the most common cause of mortality among Roma aged 15-64, with a death rate of 30.4%, it is lower than in the general population, where this rate is 44.2% (p = 0.001). The second most common cause of mortality among Roma is circulatory diseases (24.8%), which is higher than in the general population (16.0%). Respiratory diseases account for 9.4% of deaths among Roma, and endocrine diseases account for 5.1%, which is higher than in the general population, where both rates are lower than 2% (p < 0.004). Adult Roma die more often from circulatory, respiratory and endocrine diseases than the general population. Additional targeted research on Roma health is needed, especially on lifestyle and smoking habits, which are leading risk factors for respiratory and circulatory diseases, as well as data on the use of existing prevention programs among Roma, with the aim of adapting them to the characteristics of the Roma population. Key messages • Adult Roma population in Slovenia develop similar mortality pattern as the rest of population- increasing mortality of cancer diseases. Higher utility of preventive programmes is recommended. • Circulatory and respiratory diseases have considerable share in premature mortality in Roma population. Health promotion, preventive and early diagnosis and treatment are recommended.