Death Stats

Using the statistics from the 2008 Taiwan Public Health Report I found some surprising(at least to me) results about the causes of death in Taiwan. They are in Table 9 of the appendix of that report. (I think it's considered unlucky to talk about death in Taiwan, good thing I'm not superstition.(Saying it will NOT make it happen.)) 

 

The leading causes of death(in layman's terms) in Taiwan are:

1. Cancer

2. Stroke

3. Heart Attacks

4. Diabetes

5. Accidents (Traffic mostly)

6. Pneumonia

7. Liver disease

8. Kidney disease

9. Suicide

10. Hypertension

These are diseases of a developed country.

Cancer is #1 by a long way and increasing, given that most cancers have an environmental component that's not good.

Stroke and heart attacks, #2 and #3 seem consistent over the years.

That diabetes, #4, is increasing points to a worsening diet.

I was surprised to see that death by accidents, #5,  is DECREASING. So for all my ranting about the traffic situation it has been worse! And it is getting better. I should thank my lucky stars!

Searching the web I found this table about the causes of death in the US. This time the day is broken down by age group and is for a single year, 2006.

The leading causes of death(in layman's terms) in the US are:

1. Heart Disease

2.Cancer

3. Stroke

4. Lung Disease

5. Accidents (Traffic mostly)

6. Diabetes

7. Alzheimer's

8. Flu and Pneumonia

9.Kidney disease

10.Infection

The first 6 are basically the same in both lists. The order is a little different and the categories might not be exactly the same.

I like the color scheme of the US chart. It clearly shows that homicide(red), suicide(green) and accidents(blue) are "diseases" of the young.

So what's the point? When it's time it's time. Except for diet and exercise there's not much any of us can do.