TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Although cancer was the top cause of death in Taiwan for the 41st year in a row, COVID reached the third slot in 2022.
On Monday (June 12), the Ministry of Health of Welfare (MOHW) released statistics on the leading causes of death in 2022. Among the top 10 causes of death, COVID leaped from 19th to third place, having caused nearly 15,000 deaths in 2022.
Cancer deaths
Cancer remained in first place, claiming nearly 52,000 lives. In second place was heart disease, followed by COVID, pneumonia, cerebrovascular disease, diabetes, hypertensive diseases, injuries from accidents, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and nephrosis, rounding out the top 10.
Taiwan's "cancer death clock" also sped up by three seconds compared to 2022, with a patient dying of cancer every 10 minutes and seven seconds. The number of cancer deaths in 2022 reached 51,927, an increase of 271 from 2021, causing the cancer mortality rate to reach 222.7 per 100,000, an increase of 1.2%, while the overall mortality rate from all diseases in Taiwan for 2022 was 893.8 per 100,000, an increase of 13.9% from 2022.
Top 10 causes of death
The number of people who died from the top 10 causes of death in 2022 was 157,267, accounting for 75.5% of total deaths. The cause of death which saw the highest increase was COVID, followed by hypertensive diseases (+10.6%), heart disease (+8.3%), and diabetes (+7.3%).
The number of deaths from all causes in 2022 was 208,438, a rise of 24,266 from 2021, representing a 13.2% increase. The MOHW attributed the higher number of deaths to the impact of the pandemic, in addition to an aging population.
Main causes of death by age
In terms of the leading cause of death in various age groups, the main cause of death for people aged 1-24 was accidents. For people aged 25-44, the main causes were cancer and suicide, while for people aged 45 and over, cancer and heart disease were the two main causes.
When it comes to deaths by cancer, 87% are aged 55 or over. Cancer deaths accounted for 24.9% of the death toll in 2022, an increase of 1.2% from 2021.
The top 10 fatal forms of cancer in 2022 and 2021 were as follows:
- Trachea, bronchus, and lung cancer
- Liver and intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma
- Colon, rectum, and anal cancer
- Female breast cancer
- Prostate cancer
- Oral cancer
- Pancreatic cancer
- Stomach cancer
- Esophageal cancer
- Ovarian cancer
COVID deaths
As for COVID deaths in Taiwan, 86% occurred among people aged 65 and over. The number of COVID deaths in 2022 reached 14,667, and the median age of death was 82.
Lo Yi-chun (羅一鈞), deputy director general of the CDC, told the media on Monday that Taiwan saw such a large number of COVID deaths in 2022 because it was the largest outbreak of the virus seen in the country. Lo said that people aged 85 and over accounted for 41.3% of deaths, people aged 75 to 84 for 27.8% of deaths, and people aged 65 to 74 for 17.2% of deaths, reported CNA.
Lo said the virus had a disproportionate effect on the elderly, especially those who had not received three doses of COVID vaccines. So far in 2023, Lo said there have been 5,157 deaths caused by COVID.
He predicted that COVID will drop as a leading cause of death to sixth or seventh place, but it depends on the progress of the epidemic in Taiwan.
Lo cited the Economist as estimating that Taiwan had 22,852 excess deaths due to COVID. Lo said that of these deaths, COVID-related factors accounted for 64%, while the remaining were not directly related to COVID but were caused indirectly or by other chronic diseases.
