Health

Cancer, circulatory diseases make up more than half of all deaths in State in 2021, CSO shows

Local Electoral Areas Ennistimon, Belmullet and Connemara North had highest rate of neoplasm deaths in country

Clontarf in Dublin city, had the highest proportion of deaths at 1.5 per cent or 528 deaths in 2021.
Clontarf in Dublin city, had the highest proportion of deaths at 1.5 per cent or 528 deaths in 2021.
Katie Mellett
Tue Jun 11 2024 - 17:56

Neoplasms, commonly known as cancer and diseases of the circulatory system accounted for more than half of all 34,844 deaths that occurred in Ireland in 2021, according to a new publication from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

In 2021, the Local Electoral Areas with the three highest rates per 100,000 of the population of neoplasm deaths included Ennistimon, Co Clare at 351.6, Belmullet, Co Mayo with 346.8, and Connemara North, Galway County with 296.9.

Diseases of the circulatory system include causes of death which relate to ischemic heart disease, cerebrovascular diseases, hypertensive diseases along with other circulatory system diseases. In 2021, this rate per 100,000 of the population was highest in Castleisland, Co Kerry with 368 per 100,000, Belmullet, Co Mayo with 362.6, and Bantry-west Cork, Cork County with 325.5.

Diseases of the respiratory system caused 60.7 per 100,000 deaths nationally, Covid-19 when the virus was identified and or not identified as part of laboratory testing caused 60.2 per 100,000 deaths nationally and Mental and behavioural disorders caused 36 per 100,000 deaths nationally.

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External causes of death, such as deaths due to suicide, accidents, and other external factors, resulted in 30 per 100,000 deaths nationally or 4.5 per cent in 2021.

Clontarf in Dublin city, had the highest proportion of deaths at 1.5 per cent or 528 deaths in 2021, followed by Ballymun-Finglas, Dublin city with 502 deaths, and Artane-Whitehall, Dublin city with 499.

Granard in Co Longford recorded the lowest number of deaths in 2021 with 80.

Clontarf, Dublin city had the highest average age of death at 82.6 years, followed by Stillorgan, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown at 82.3 years and Pembroke, Dublin city with 81.9 years in 2021. In contrast, Ongar, Fingal had the lowest average age of death at 66 years, followed by Tallaght South Dublin with 66.5 years and Blanchardstown-Mulhuddart, Fingal with 66.9.

Ballyfermot-Drimnagh, Dublin city had the highest age standardised death rate per 100,000 in 2021 of 880.5, while Leixlip, Co Kildare had the lowest of 340.5.

Age-standardised death rates adjust for differences in the age distribution of the population by applying the observed age-specific mortality rates for each population to a standard population.

Local Electoral Areas such as Belmullet, Co Mayo recorded the highest level of crude death rates with 1,324.3, Bantry-west Cork, Cork County with 1,064.2 crude deaths rates, and Glenties in Co Donegal with 1,018.4.

The national crude death rate is the number of deaths divided by the population in an area, stood at 660.1 per 100,000 of population in 2021.

Blanchardstown-Mulhuddart, Fingal, Glencullen-Sandyford, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown and Ongar, Fingal had the lowest crude death rates per 100,000 of the population in 2021.