ITALIANS CUT MEDICAL VISITS AS RECESSION BITES
By Denis Greenan
19 aprile, 18:12
(ANSA) - Rome, April 19 - More and more Italians are deciding
to go without medical treatment and even neglecting their
children's dental care as the country's worst recession in 20
years bites ever deeper into household budgets, according to
figures out Friday.Nine million Italians have stopped treating small or minor medical conditions as a result of the ongoing economic crisis, OsservaSalute said Friday. The annual report by the health observatory said almost two million elderly people now go without medical treatment including non-reimbursed pharmaceutical drugs.
Further, 40% of people over-65 can no longer afford quick private check-ups, 'resigning' themselves to long waiting lists on the national health service, the report said.
Also, families are increasingly renouncing dental treatment for their children. The use of antidepressants has risen from 8.18 daily doses per 1,000 inhabitants in 2000 to 35.72 in 2010 and the number of suicides has also risen in keeping with the trend across Europe, the study said. The recession has also had a negative impact on lifestyle choices, with the consumption of fresh fruit and vegetables falling in favour of cheaper high-energy foods, and Italians are also exercising less in order to save money.
Moreover last year 10% fewer Italians underwent thermal treatments for medical conditions, compared to a 5% rise in neighbouring France.
Dentists have also seen a 30% drop in turnover in the last two years as Italians look to low-cost packages available on the internet or even go abroad in an attempt to cut treatment costs.
One Italian family out of three gave up taking their children back to the dentist in 2012 after the first visit as part of belt-tightening sacrifices during the economic crisis, a report by the National Orthodontic College said on Friday.
Approximately two million children risk permanent damage to their teeth and 40% fewer families can afford braces to correct dental alignment, the report said.
According to the publication, currently five million children between the ages of five and 14 are in need of orthodontic devices.
In Italy, 90-95% of orthodontic care is private.
The recession, which is expected to last until next year, is pushing thousands of businesses to the wall, forcing countless workers out of their jobs, swelling the ranks of the 'new poor' who turn to food kitchens and free hospitals for help, and driving a rising number of suicides.
A triple suicide in the Marche region earlier this month was one of the most dramatic recent effects of the grim economic times.
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