Burden of Cancer in the Working Age Population in the Context of Economic Inequalities in the European Union

Abstract

The aim of the presented research is to assess the degree of burdening the EU economies with the effects of cancer in the context of the limitations diagnosed of the labor market potential in the Member States. Particular attention was paid to the problem of existing inequalities in the level of burdening national economies with the effects of premature mortality due to cancer observed in the relationship between the "old" and the "new" EU. The extent to which EU economies were burdened by the long-term effects of cancer was measured by the number of prematurely lost years of healthy life for people of working age. The hypothesis of a persistently high level of inequality was verified on the basis of an analysis of the convergence process in the group of EU-27 countries in the years 1990-2019. The results obtained indicate that the level of health limitations caused by cancer is strongly differentiated in the EU-27 group. The inequalities observed concern, in particular, the relationship between the "old" and "new" Europe and indicate a high burden of health consequences for the inhabitants of Central and Eastern Europe. The analysis of catching up process by the countries with the least favorable situation (the highest level of cancer burden), carried out in the EU-27 group, did not show a real effect of reducing disproportions in the level of the parameters analyzed.