People in Poland have enjoyed large gains in life expectancy over the past decades, thanks to improvements in living conditions, public health interventions and progress in medical care. In 2010, life expectancy at birth in Poland stood at 76 years. Life expectancy for women is 81 years, compared with 72 for men.

Higher life expectancy is generally associated with higher healthcare spending per person, although many other factors have an impact on life expectancy (such as living standards, lifestyles, education and environmental factors). Total health spending accounted for 7.4% of GDP in Poland in 2009.  Health spending per person in Poland grew, in real terms, by an average of 7.4% per year between 2000 and 2008.

Tobacco consumption and excessive weight gain remain two important risk factors for many chronic diseases. The percentage of adults who smoke every day has declined markedly in Poland from 41.5% in 1992 to 26.3% in 2004 (latest year available). The obesity rate among adults is of 12.5%.

When asked, “How is your health in general?” 58% of people in Poland reported to be in good health. Despite the subjective nature of this question, the answers have been found to be a good predictor of people’s future health care use . Gender, age and social status may affect answer to this question. On average in most countries, men are more likely to report good health than women, In Poland, the average is 62% for men and 55% for women. Not surprisingly, older people report poorer health, as do those who are unemployed, or who have less education or income. In 2010, about 70% of the top 20% of the adult population in Poland rated their health as ‘good’ or ‘very good’, compared to about 53% for the bottom 20%.

Do następnego razu… (Till next time…)