Infant, maternal, and perinatal mortality statistics in the Republic of Korea, 2014

This study aimed to analyze infant, maternal, perinatal, and fetal mortality statistics in the Republic of Korea (Korea), 2014. It was based on the open-access data available from the Statistics Korea website (http://kostat.go.kr/portal/eng/index.action). Recent trends in these vital statistics were also examined. The results of this study constitute a descriptive presentation and analysis of the national data. The number of infant deaths was 1,305 out of 435,435 live births in 2014, and the infant mortality rate was 3.0. The number of maternal deaths was 48. The maternal mortality ratio per 100,000 live births was 11.0. The maternal mortality ratio per 100,000 women of child-bearing age (15 to 49 years old) was 0.37. The number of perinatal deaths was 1,365, and the perinatal mortality rate was 3.1. The number of fetal deaths was 5,317. The fetal mortality rate was 12.1. The trends in those vital statistics in recent years were consistent except for a few findings, including a decrease in the maternal mortality ratio of pregnant women 40 years old and older and a change in the proportions of the causes of infant death, with a decrease in mortality due to neonatal respiratory distress and an increase in mortality due to bacterial sepsis. Although these vital statistics were generally consistent, some aspects varied by year. Pregnant women less than 20 years old should be monitored more intensively for their babies' health. Our findings can serve as basic data supporting the establishment of health policies by the Korean government.

Cause-of-death statistics in the Republic of Korea, 2014

This article presents recent trends and statistical indicators related to mortality in the Republic of Korea by analyzing the 2014 cause-of-death statistics. Specifically, we assessed the number of deaths, the crude death rate, the ranking of causes of death, and trends in the death rate from the major causes of death. Causes of death were classified according to the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th revision, as recommended by the World Health Organization. In order to determine the ranking of causes of death, Statistics Korea used the selection list of 56 causes of death from the 80 causes of death list for tabulation mortality statistics recommended by World Health Organization to better fit the Korean situation. The 10 leading causes of death were, in order, cancer, heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, suicide, pneumonia, diabetes mellitus, chronic lower respiratory disease, liver disease, transport accidents, and hypertensive diseases. The top 10 causes of death accounted for 70.5% of all Korean deaths. The ranking of cancer types as causes of death was lung, liver, stomach, colon, and pancreatic cancer. Death rates for heart disease increased from the third in 2013 to the second leading cause in 2014 and the rank of pneumonia moved up from the sixth in 2013 to the fifth in 2014. The mortality rate due to stomach cancer has decreased continuously over time.. This finding may reflect changes in Korean society involving population structure, epidemiological patterns, and lifestyles, including dietary habits.