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Poland Health Issues
In 1991 Poland's overall mortality rate increased to
10.6
deaths per 1,000 persons, from the 1990 figure of 10.2 per
1,000
(see
table 11, Appendix). In the same period, infant
mortality
remained constant at 15.9 per 1,000. About 50 percent of
the
405,000 deaths in 1991 were attributed to circulatory
diseases,
and another 20 percent were caused by malignant tumors.
Poland's
communist regimes partially or completely ignored a number
of
major health problems, including acquired immune
deficiency
syndrome (AIDS), drug addiction, and alcoholism. Only with
the
open discussion that began in 1989 did the extent of these
problems become clear. Solutions, on the other hand, were
often
blocked in the postcommunist years by popular distrust of
state
authority, controversy between church and state, and lack
of
resources.
Data as of October 1992
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