Malignant tumors head the top 10 causes of death in Taiwan, according to statistics issued by the Department of Health (DOH,
According to the statistics, out of a total of 124,991 deaths recorded last year, 29,784 people, or 23.83 percent, died from cancer. In other words, on average, one person died from cancer every 17.5 minutes.
The top 10 causes of death last year were as follows: malignant tumors, accidents, cerebrovascular diseases, heart disease, diabetes, chronicle hepatic disease (hepatitis), and hepatocirrhosis, pneumonia, kidney-related diseases, suicide, and high blood pressure.
Due to the many deaths caused by the 921 earthquake, the death rate from accidents increased 1.68 percent compared with the year before.
The number of deaths caused by diabetes increased significantly in both males and females, up 18.84 percent.
It rose 13.13 percent in males, climbing from sixth to fifth on the list. In females, it surged 24.74 percent, going from fourth to third on the list.
The other causes of death which also saw increases were chronic hepatic disease and hepatocirrhosis and suicide.
Hepatic disease and hepatocirrhosis deaths increased by 4.03 percent and suicide increased by 3.95 percent over the previous year.
Major causes of death differed according to age. For people between the ages of one and 44 years, accidents were the leading cause while the number one killer for people over the age of 45 was malignant tumors.
It is the third consecutive year in which suicide has appeared in the top 10 list. According to the statistics, people between the ages of 35 and 49 make up the largest share of suicides.
Recent research by the John Tung Foundation showed that 50 percent to 70 percent of those who eventually committed suicide suffered from chronic depression, while 15 percent of patients who had been diagnosed as being clinically depressed by doctors eventually took their own lives.
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