ROME, Dec. 11 (UPI) -- Italians are feeling better and living up to four years longer than they did two decades ago, health officials say.
A report issued in Rome by senior health officials says the average life expectancy for women is 84 years for women and 78.4 for men, ANSA reported.
Those living in the Campania region around Naples have the country's shortest lifespan and residents of the central section of Italy's east coast appear to live the longest, the news agency said Thursday.
Cancer kills 35 percent of Italian men, followed by heart disease at 34.9 percent and respiratory diseases a distant third at 7.4 percent.
Heart conditions are the leading killer among Italian women at 43.8 percent, followed by cancer at 25.6 percent, the report said.
Southern Italy leads the country in dental problems except in the north where cancer of the mouth is prevalent.
The report was presented by Welfare Minister Maurizio Sacconi, who said he would "soon be passing the baton" to Junior Health Minister Ferrucio Fazio, who is expected to appointed to the full post next week.
