작년 사망자 절반은 80세 이상…작년 치매 사망률 6.3% 증가

Serious health conditions like dementia are becoming more common as a cause of death in South Korea.
Alzheimer's disease - for example was the seventh highest cause of death in 2019.
The total number of deaths last year edged down slightly on-year, but was still the second highest on record.
Eum Ji-young reports.
Reflecting South Korea's aging society, deaths from senile diseases including Alzheimer's disease are showing a steep increase every year.
According to Statistics Korea on Tuesday, there were 295-thousand-110 deaths in South Korea last year,… down one-point two percent compared to the previous year.
However, it is still the second highest number recorded since statistics were first compiled in 1983.
People in their 80s and over made up 47 percent of all deaths recorded last year,... an increase of almost 15 percentage points compared to 10 years ago.
Cancer, heart disease and pneumonia were the country's top three leading causes of death in 2019.
Those three accounted for almost 46 percent of all deaths in the country and the number of deaths from Alzheimer's disease, is also on the rise.
"Alzheimer's disease went up two spots from last year to rank 7th out of the top 10 leading causes of death in 2019. Alzheimer's disease is one of the diseases most associated with age. As the population is aging, the number of deaths and the death rate are rising."
More than 10 thousand people died due to dementia including Alzheimer's disease in 2019,... up six-point-three percent on-year.
The death rate due to Alzheimer's disease has increased nine-point-five percent compared to the previous year and over 250 percent compared to a decade ago.
The death rate due to dementia was two-point-three times higher for women than men.
Suicides were the fifth most common cause of death, with about 38 people per day on average committing suicide in 2019. The 10 to 19 age bracket saw the most deaths by suicide.
Eum Ji-young, Arirang News.