Number of people with chronic diseases in Italy 2010-2023

The latest data on Italians’ state of health showed that as many as 23.6 million individuals suffered from at least one chronic disease. Moreover, a considerable number of people were even affected by two or more chronic conditions. Among them, hypertension, arthritis, and allergies were the most widespread. Even if these figures could indicate the opposite, Italians appeared to be generally satisfied and claimed to have an overall good health.

Satisfied with their health status

While almost 23.7 million Italians were affected by at least one chronic disease, as many as 40.1 million Italians were living with no chronic illnesses. Moreover, recent surveys revealed that most Italians claimed to be generally content with their health condition, with only 3.1 percent of respondents admitting that they were not at all satisfied. 

Pre-existing health conditions and the coronavirus

To this day, the coronavirus (COVID-19) caused as many as 175 thousand deaths in Italy. An in-depth study on the deceased patients, however, showed that most of the victims were already suffering from poor health conditions. Only three percent of deaths registered occurred among individuals with no pre-existing health conditions. To be more specific, roughly 66 percent of individuals who died from the coronavirus were suffering from hypertension, 29 percent from type-2 diabetes, and 28 percent from ischemic heart disease.