Representatives of the Andrija Stampar Teaching Institute of Public Health, who presented the statistics, warn that cardiovascular and malignant diseases, particularly lung and colon cancers, still pose the biggest health risk in the Croatian capital.
"Although a slight decrease can be noted in cardiovascular diseases mortality, the CVD mortality rate of 42% in Zagreb is still a cause for concern given that in developed countries this rate ranges between 25% and 27%," said the institute's director, Zvonimir Sostar.
Mental diseases, notably depression, are becoming an increasing problem, and 120 cases of suicide were registered last year.
"What is particularly concerning is that last year there were seven suicides in the age group of 15-24 years and 11 suicides in the 24-39 group," Sostar says, underscoring that depression is getting more common around the world.
Croatians - an ageing population with lifestyle-related diseases
Marina Polic Vizintin says that the Croatians are getting older, particularly people in the capital city where the share of citizens older than 65 has reached 17.5% of the total population.
In Zagreb, the life expectancy is 77 years for men and 82 years for women.
"We are a very old population, measured by the criteria of the World Health Organisation, and this is also the reason for the increasing presence of cardiovascular and malignant diseases as the main cause of death," Polic Vizintin says.
People in Zagreb most often go to their GPs because of respiratory diseases, musculoskeletal and connective tissue disorders, and cardiovascular diseases.
When it comes to hospitalisation, a majority of those admitted to hospitals have cancers and disorders of their circulatory systems. Mental diseases and eating disorders are the third biggest reason for hospitalisation.
This is seen as evidence that chronic mass non-contagious diseases with common risk factors such as improper nutrition, smoking, excessive alcohol consumption and lack of physical activity prevail in the Croatian capital. That's why lifestyle change is a must to decrease the incidence of these diseases, Polic Vizintin says.