Cancer remains the leading cause of death in Taiwan, even as the nation’s life expectancy continues to rise, according to the latest statistics released by the Department of Health June 15.
As of 2010, the average life expectancy in Taiwan was 76.2 years for males and 82.7 years for females, up 0.1 year and 0.3 year, respectively, from 2009.
In descending order, the top 10 major causes of death in Taiwan are cancer, heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, pneumonia, diabetes, accidents, chronic respiratory disease, chronic liver disease and cirrhosis, hypertensive disease and kidney disease.
Cancer has remained the nation’s top killer for 29 consecutive years, claiming the lives of 41,046 citizens in 2010 alone, according to the DOH statistics.
The most prevalent types of cancer are lung cancer, liver cancer and colorectal cancer, the three of which were responsible for over half of all cancer deaths last year.
“We need to pay more attention to weight control,” said Kung Hsien-lan, a DOH official. “Cancer, heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, diabetes, hypertension and kidney disease are all related to obesity.”
Suicide accounted for 2.7 percent of all deaths last year, down 0.2 percent from 2009. It was the 11th leading cause of death in 2010, the first time since 1997 that suicide was not on the Top 10 list, the department said.
It was also the first time that hypertensive illnesses, which came in at 9th place, made it to the Top 10 list. A full 12.2 percent more people died from hypertensive illnesses in 2010 than in 2009. (HZW)
Write to Kwangyin Liu at kwangyin.liu@mail.gio.gov.tw