S. Korea records highest number of deaths on record in 2018

Arirang News 2019-09-30

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With South Korea now firmly an aging society,... the number of deaths reported in the country last year was the highest on record.
While deaths from cancer was still the number one cause of death,... the number of women suffering from Alzheimer's disease and men from pneumonia is on the rise.
Kan Hyeong-woo reports.
29-thousand-820 people died in South Korea in 2018.
That's the highest figure since 1983,... when related statistics were first compiled.
An average of 819 people died each day, 36 more than the previous year.
The death rate,... which refers to the number of deaths per 100-thousand people,... was 1-point-one-eight times higher for men than women.
People over 80-years-old accounted for 46-point-3-percent of deaths last year.
But the mortality rate due to senile diseases,... such as Alzheimer's disease and pneumonia skyrocketed over the past year.
In addition, deaths due to Alzheimer's disease were among the top 10 leading causes of death for the first time.
The mortality rate due to the disease was 22-point-5-percent higher than the previous year,... and 214-percent higher than a decade ago.
In particular,... more women were affected than men.
However, pneumonia was the third leading cause of death,... with death among male patients higher than in women.
"The number of cases of pneumonia and Alzheimer's disease have skyrocketed. Alzheimer's is characterized by weaker cognitive and motor function, which increases the probability of dying from pneumonia, malnutrition, pressure sores, and falls.
Cancer, heart disease and pneumonia were the top three leading causes of death in South Korea last year,... together accounting for 45-percent of all deaths.
As for cancer mortality for those in their 30s,... lung cancer was the highest,... followed by liver, colon and stomach cancer.
Liver cancer topped the list for people in their 40s and 50s,... while lung cancer was the leading cause of death for cancer patients in their 60s and older.
Suicide was the leading cause of death for those in their teens to 30s.
This as the suicide rate in South Korea in 2018 rose for the first time in 5 years.
Suicide deaths increased nine-point-seven percent on-year,... with significant increases in January, March and July.
Kan Hyeong-woo, Arirang News.

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