Cancer remains top cause of death among Taipei residents

Cancer remained the top cause of death in Taiwan’s capital in 2011, accounting for 29.9 percent of all deaths, according to statistics published by the Taipei City Department of Health yesterday.
The top causes of death last year for both men and woman were cancer with 4,732 of the 15,384 deaths, followed by heart disease with 1,906 (12 percent), and cerebrovascular diseases 1,137 (7.2 percent), the statistics showed.

Suicide’s ranking slid for the fourth consecutive year to end out of the top 10 at the 12th spot, while deaths caused by accidents returned to the top 10 list as the number 10 main cause of death with 405 deaths (2.5 percent).

The standardized mortality rate in deaths caused by chronic respiratory diseases grew the most compared with other causes of death, climbing 18.2 percent from a year earlier to 10.5 deaths per 10,000.

While the top three causes of death were the same for both genders, the standardized mortality rate for blood poisoning among men surged by 39.2 percent in 2011 to 13.5 people per 10,000, while a significant decrease was seen in the rate for kidney diseases which dropped by 8.3 percent to 9.7.

For women, the biggest growth in standardized mortality rates in 2011 compared with 2010 was death caused by accidents, which increased by 13.1 percent to 6.5 deaths per 10,000, while deaths caused by problems with musculoskeletal systems and connective tissues declined by 27.2 percent to 5.5.

When broken down into age groups, statistics showed there were more deaths among the elderly population, and that the average age of death was 74 in Taipei, which is higher than the national average of 70.6. Deaths among those above the age of 65 accounted for 11,867.

The main cause of death for the elderly was disease, while for young people the main cause of death was accidents.

For youths between the ages of 15-24, the department’s statistics noted accidents accounted for 39.5 percent of the total 86 people that died in 2011, followed by cancer with 20.9 percent and suicide 16.5 percent.

The main cause of death among those in the age bracket of 65 and above was mostly cancer (25.8 percent), followed by cardiovascular disease (13.1 percent) and cerebrovascular diseases (8.0 percent).

Taipei’s standardized mortality rate was 343.5 deaths per 10,000 people in 2011, which grew by 4.4 (1.4 percent) compared with 2010.

The rate is lower than the national average of 462.4, and the city’s mortality rate is the second lowest out of Taiwan’s 22 counties and cities.