Corona, heart attack, Alzheimer's disease or cancer after all? A study found out which disease Germans fear the most. At FITBOOK you can read the results.
Which diseases scare Germans most? That wanted to find out a study of the health insurance DAK. For the tenth time, the Forsa Institute investigated fears on behalf of the health insurance fund – with astonishing results. Not Corona causes the greatest concern for German citizens in 2020.
In the pandemic year, 72 percent of people are most afraid of cancer. Followed by Alzheimer's/dementia and accidents with serious injuries (both 55 percent) in second/third place.
cancer (72 percent)
Alzheimer's disease/dementia (55 percent)
Accidents with serious injuries (55 percent)
Stroke (51 percent)
Heart attack (47 percent)
Severe eye disease (45 percent)
How high is the fear of Corona?
A fear of contracting covid-19 is held by 37 percent – that's about one in three people. This fear is particularly widespread among people aged 60 and over (47 percent). Also noticeable: as the level of education increases, the fear of corona disease decreases. More than one in two people with a secondary school diploma are afraid of the coronavirus, but only one in three with a high school diploma.
Overall, women are more likely to fear COVID-19 (41 percent) than men (32 percent). Fear is highest in North Rhine-Westphalia (41 percent), lowest in northern Germany (33 percent).
COVID-19 (37 percent)
Mental illness (33 percent)
Severe lung disease (32 percent)
Diabetes (20 percent)
STDs (12 percent)
Fear of lung disease increased by Corona pandemic
Against the backdrop of the second Corona wave, the fear of severe lung disease is significantly more pronounced than in the past ten years. One in three (32 percent) is currently afraid of lung disease. In 2019, it was 21 percent.
While the older population is more likely to be afraid of Corona, it is people between the ages of 14 and 29 who are particularly afraid of contracting an STD (23 percent compared to six percent among the elderly). This again seems unsurprising!
What do Germans do to prevent diseases??
Women are more active in prevention. Thus, 73 percent of German women take cancer screenings. For men it is only 47 percent.
In order to prevent illnesses, Germans exercise regularly (80 percent) and eat a balanced diet (78 percent). In the context of the Corona pandemic, the proportion of non-smokers has risen: 74 percent of Germans do not smoke to protect their health. In the past ten years, the average was 67 percent.