Brevia Health has launched the first parliamentary tracker of diseases examined by the UK Parliament. The Disease Profile Tracker offers unique insights into which diseases are being discussed and the activities that can trigger interest including awareness weeks and advocacy initiatives from patient groups and charities.
Our analysis tracks the top 20 diseases by cause of mortality (as ranked by the Office for National Statistics’ monthly mortality analysis for England and Wales).[1] The tracker highlights how some of the biggest causes of mortality do not receive comparable attention in the UK Parliament whilst other diseases get disproportionally more coverage.
Brevia Health has built a dataset that goes back to January 2022 which allows trends to be examined over the last 28 months and annual changes to be identified.
Shifting Focus from Covid-19 to Long-term Health Challenges
One of the most noticeable trends from Brevia Health’s analysis is the substantial decline in mentions of Covid-19 in 2023 compared to 2022, as the pandemic subsided. Despite this significant decline in discussion from 2022 (down 65 per cent), Covid-19 remains the most commonly debated disease in 2023 and was discussed over nine times more than the second most discussed disease, Dementia [IJ1] and Alzheimer’s Disease.[2]
Chronic Diseases Remain a Priority
Dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease, heart disease, and diabetes [DB2] [IJ3] consistently maintained a prominent presence in parliamentary discussions throughout 2023. This underscores the ongoing interest amongst parliamentarians in chronic health diseases and their significant impact on public health.
Cancer Discourse Dynamics
While breast cancer remains the most discussed cancer in Parliament, other cancer types experienced fluctuations in parliamentary attention. Mentions of pancreatic cancer in the UK Parliament fell considerably in 2023 (down 61 per cent from 2022) while activity surrounding bowel and lung cancer increased significantly.
Despite lung cancer being the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the UK in 2022, [IJ4] according to ONS data, it received 35 per cent fewer mentions in the UK Parliament in 2023 compared to breast cancer.
Impact of Health Awareness Campaigns
Data for breast and prostate cancer in 2023 demonstrate the impact that awareness weeks and advocacy initiatives from charities can yield. International Women’s Day in March saw an increase in parliamentary attention for breast cancer as mentions doubled compared to the monthly average in 2023. Similarly, during Movember, prostate cancer mentions more than tripled in November 2023 compared to the monthly average for 2023. [3]
[1] The Office for National Statistics, ‘Monthly mortality analysis, England and Wales: December 2022’, link
[2] Dementia is not a specific disease but is rather a general term for the severe loss of memory, language, and other thinking abilities. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common type of dementia.
[3] Movember is an annual event held in November where men grow moustaches to raise awareness and funds for male health – in particular prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and mental health.
