Source: The Economist
Bad habits and an unhealthy environment are the main causes.
From Szczecin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, health disparities in Europe as a whole are narrowing. Although the average life expectancy of EU citizens is longer from a global perspective (2.5 years longer than that of the United States and 4.6 years longer than that of China), there are still significant differences in life expectancy within the continent.
For example, residents of Madrid, Spain, have the highest life expectancy of 85 years, while those of the Severozapaden region of Bulgaria have a life expectancy of only 73 years, a difference of nearly 12 years. The average life expectancy in Slovenia is slightly above the EU average, while Denmark is slightly below the EU average.
However, this has not always been the case. In the mid-60s of the 20th century, the average life expectancy in Latvia and Lithuania was not much different from that of Cyprus and France. However, as child mortality declined, health conditions began to diverge between eastern and western Europe, especially after the fall of the Iron Curtain. According to the European Public Health Alliance (EPHA), a non-governmental organization, poor lifestyle habits and an unhealthy environment are the main causes of chronic diseases such as cancer, diabetes and heart disease. Eastern Europe tends to see more smoking and alcohol abuse. Although the prevalence is lowest in Hungarians, many regions of Poland, Slovakia and Croatia also have higher rates of chronic diseases.