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Main Causes of Death among Workers in Taiwan: Cancer, Accident, Liver Disease(06/08/2006)

Last Modified Date: 06/08/2006 11:47:18 

Research data comparing causes of death among workers with those of the general public in 2004, compiled by the Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH), an agency of the Council of Labor Affairs, reveals that the top cause for both groups was cancer, which resulted in 72.16 deaths per 100,000 workers. While the second most important cause of death among the general population was chronic disease, however, for workers the second biggest killer was accidents (at 30.81 per 100,000), followed by liver disease (13.36). Hypertension was down to 11th place for workers. Pneumonia, which was the 6th biggest killer for the general population, fluctuated between 9th and 10th for workers (see Table 1). 

The Department of Health announces the 10 biggest causes of death among the general population every year, but in the past no data were available on the distribution of deaths among workers. This made it difficult to know what the main causes of death among workers were, or how to take preventive action. Now, research carried out by IOSH gives the ranking of causes of death among workers in all industries. This makes it possible for the government, enterprises, and workers or their families to work out effective countermeasures. 

The IOSH study of workers’ deaths for the years 2002-2004 shows that there was not much change in the ranking of the top-five causes (see Chart 1). According to data from 2004, the ranking of causes of death among male workers was similar to that for the general public. For female workers, though, liver disease was down to 6th place while cranial vascular disease and diabetes ranked relatively high. The rate of death from heart disease was higher for men than for women (see Table 2). 

Analysis of the top-ranked cause of death, cancer, shows that the two main types of cancer killers were the same for workers and the general population: liver cancer and lung cancer. It is notable that the 6th biggest cancer killer for the general public, oral cavity cancer, ranked 3rd among workers, causing 5.3 deaths per 100,000. (Clinical research carried out in the past revealed a high rate of betel nut chewing among workers.) Nasopharynx cancer, which ranked only 14th as a cause of cancer death among the general population, was up to 8th place for workers with 2.5 deaths per 100,000. Non-hodgkin’s lymphoma was also a major killer of workers, ranking 9th with 2.3 deaths per 100,000; among the general population, its ranking was down to 11th. A research report published in the American Journal of Epidemiology last year indicates that in addition to immunology problems, this kind of cancer is also related to insufficient physical activity, obesity, and excess calorie intake. Obviously, Taiwan’s workers need to pay more attention to keeping up their health. 

Analysis of cancer deaths by sex shows that 92.6 out of every 100,000 male workers died of cancer in 2004. The top three cancer killers together made up more than half the total: liver cancer with 26.9 deaths, oral cavity cancer with 13.45 deaths, and lung cancer with 12.4 deaths. The rate of oral cavity cancer gives weight to numerous clinical studies carried out in Taiwan on the overlapping use of tobacco, alcoholic drinks, and betel nuts among the male population. Deaths from cancer among female workers in 2004 numbered 50.8 per 100,000, with 45% of that total being caused by the top three types: breast cancer (9.87 deaths), lung cancer (7.45), and colorectal cancer (5.54). Cervix uteri cancer was in 5th place with 3.54~4.1 deaths, and ovarian cancer was 7th. Nasopharynx cancer, which is frequent among men, was not even among the top-10 cancer killers of women. For both male and female workers, non-hodgkin’s lymphoma was the 8th biggest cancer killer (see Table 4). 

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• Publication Date:2006-06-08
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