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What is the top killer of Koreans in their 40s? According to statistics announced last year by the National Statistical Office, in the year 2005 cancer was the No. 1 cause of death for 40-somethings, killing 68.4 out of 100,000 people. Next on the list are suicide (28.3), liver disease (26.2), cerebrovascular disease, or stroke (17), traffic accidents (16.5), heart disease (15.5) and diabetes (8.2).
In the cancer category, liver cancer leads the list with 18.9 sufferers out of 100,000. Next are stomach cancer (11.9), lung cancer (7.2), intestinal cancer (5.3), breast cancer (5.3), uterine cancer (3.6), ovarian cancer (2.7) and pancreatic cancer (2.4). Mortality rates for liver disease and cancer are high, killing 45.1 patients out of 100,000. Experts believe the risks of a liver-related death are made greater through excessive alcohol consumption. The heavy responsibilities at work and at home that those in their 40s shoulder may explain why suicide is the second most common cause of death. A tendency to discount the seriousness of depression also plays a factor in boosting the suicide rate, with around 70 to 80% of suicides triggered by depression.
Cerebrovascular disease (including strokes and cerebral artery disease), an affliction normally associated with the elderly, ranked fourth, largely because of the rapid growth in the number of Koreans suffering from obesity, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Smoking and habitual drinking plays a part, too. Heart disease comes in at number six for similar reasons. It is noteworthy that diabetes has emerged one of the main causes of death among those in their 40s, killing 8.2 out of 100,000. In recent years the average age of diabetes victims has dropped. The disease often leads to complications in various parts of the body, including the kidneys, retinas and nervous system, 10 to 20 years after its onset, causing many patients to die.
Meanwhile, the mortality rate for males in their 40s was 2.7 times higher than that of females, at 343.8 and 128.7 out of 100,000 respectively. The chance of dying from liver disease was 7.5 times higher for men than it was for women, and for liver cancer it was 5.9 times higher. As for the mortality rates of heart disease, diabetes and cerebrovascular disease, male patients also recorded higher figures than females, 4.2 times, 3.9 times and 2.3 times respectively. The suicide rate was 2.7 times higher among men than women. These figures show the vulnerability of Koreans in their 40s, who play the most critical roles at home and in the office, to various diseases.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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