Taipei, June 12 (CNA) Cancer remained the top cause of death in Taiwan in 2022 for the 41st consecutive year, claiming 51,927 lives, or about a quarter of the 208,438 people who passed away in Taiwan last year, the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) reported Monday.
The number of cancer deaths was 271 higher than in 2021, and lung and liver cancer caused the highest mortality rates for a 43rd year in a row, the MOHW said in a statement.
The next deadliest cancers in order were colorectal, breast, prostate, oral, pancreatic, stomach, esophageal and ovarian cancer, with prostate, pancreatic and ovarian cancer the fastest growing causes of cancer deaths in 2022, the ministry said.
The overall death toll from cancer translated to a person dying from cancer every 10 minutes and seven seconds. Of all those who died from cancer, 87 percent were aged 55 or over.
But deaths from cancer rose noticeably in the 65-74 age group in 2022 while remaining relatively unchanging or falling in other age brackets.
The cancer death data was part of a broader report on overall deaths in Taiwan last year.
The total death toll of 208,438 people was up 13.2 percent, or 24,266 people, from 2021, which the ministry attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic and an aging population.
Even after adjusting for Taiwan's population structure, the standardized mortality rate rose 9.5 percent in 2022 to 443.9 per 100,000 population, an unusually massive jump reflecting the impact of the large number of COVID-19 cases in Taiwan last year.
Taiwan's standardized mortality rate had steadily declined since hitting 450.6 in 2012, falling as low as around 391 per 100,000 people in 2020 and 405.6 per 100,000 people in 2021, according to an MOHW chart.
COVID-19 was the No. 3 death cause in Taiwan last year, after occupying the 19th spot in 2021, and it took its toll mainly on seniors as 86.3 percent of the 14,667 deaths involved people aged 65 and over, MOHW data showed.
So far in 2023, 5,157 persons have died from COVID-related complications, prompting Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞) to predict that the virus will continue to remain among the top 10 causes of death in Taiwan in 2023.
