The Ministry of Health and Welfare has announced the leading causes of death for 2021. The top three causes of death were cancer, heart disease, and pneumonia. Cancer has now topped the list for 40 consecutive years. It killed 51,000 people in 2021, and the cancer death clock sped up by 20 seconds. In Taiwan, a person died of cancer every 10 minutes and 10 seconds.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare has announced the leading causes of death in 2021. There were 184,172 deaths recorded last year, an increase of 11,000 compared to 2020. People aged 65 and above accounted for 93 percent of the deaths. As for the top 10 causes of death, cancer led the way again. It has topped the list for 40 straight years. In 2021, cancer killed 51,000 people. Heart disease killed 21,000 people and finished in second place. It was followed by pneumonia, which caused 13,000 deaths; cerebrovascular disease, which killed 12,000; and diabetes, which was responsible for 11,000 deaths. The aging population and the frigid temperatures in January 2021 were reasons why the mortality rate increased.
Liu Hsun-jung, Director, Department of Statistics, MOHW: “About one-third of the days in January 2021 experienced temperatures of under 10 degrees. In January, the number of deaths increased by 1,800.”
As for the deadliest types of cancer, lung cancer remained in first place for the 18th straight year. Liver cancer was second, followed by colorectal and anal cancer, breast cancer, and prostate cancer. The order in 2021 was exactly the same as in 2020. Meanwhile, the cancer death clock sped up by 20 seconds. In 2021, a person died of cancer every 10 minutes and 10 seconds.
Liu Hsun-jung, Director, Department of Statistics, MOHW: “Everyone was afraid to go out, so that might have affected routine checkups. This might have caused or worsened their conditions.”
COVID-19 killed 896 people in 2021, including 57 nationals who died overseas, and finished as the 19th leading cause of death. People aged 65 or above accounted for 77 percent of the deaths, and the average age of death was 72.
衛福部公布110年有18萬4172人死亡，比前一年增加1.1萬多人，其中65歲以上、占九成三。國人十大死因仍然以癌症居首位，已連續40年蟬聯冠軍，有5.1萬人死於癌症，其次是心臟疾病2.1萬人、肺炎1.3萬人、腦血管疾病1.2萬人，糖尿病1.1萬人。除了人口老化因素，去年1月份低溫、也是死亡率增加原因之一。
衛福部統計處長劉訓蓉指出：「110年的1月，大概有三分之一的日子是10度以下的低溫，所以在1月的時候，其實就增加了1800多人的死亡人數。」
另外在十大癌症死因部分，也依舊是肺癌居第一位，已連續第18年居冠，其次是肝癌、結腸直腸及肛門癌、女性乳癌及攝護腺癌等。前十大排序跟前一年相同。不過值得注意的是，癌症死亡時鐘，去年平均每10分10秒，有1人因癌症而死亡，比前一年快轉了20秒。
劉訓蓉說道：「大家因為恐懼，不會外出，所以其實會影響到，可能有定期就診或者是那些的狀況，他們可能會因為這樣，然後導致病情或許會加重。」
衛福部統計還發現，新冠肺炎死因排名在第19位，死亡人數有896人，包含國人在國外死亡57人，年齡主要分布在65歲以上、占七成七，死亡年齡中位數為72歲。
