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NEW REPORT
TRACKS TRENDS AND
CAUSES OF
DEATH A landmark report giving
an overview of mortality rates
and causes of deaths in the
Isle of Man over a 12 year period
(2006 – 2017)
has been published.
T he Mortality Report 2017 shows there
were 836 deaths registered in the
Island in 2017, 409 men and 427
women. Life expectancy at birth stood at 79.4
years for men and 83 for women, almost the
same as in England. Cancer and diseases
of the circulatory system were the two most
common causes of death, accounting for
57% of all deaths during the year. The figures
reveal that 40.8% of all deaths were at home.
The document is the first of its kind to capture
a range of data showing trends and causes of
death over more than a decade, and will be
updated annually. The Isle of Man benchmarks
itself against offi cial mortality figures for
England and Wales, and Jersey.
The report tracks the rise in deaths among
those living beyond at the age of 90, as
people live longer and the size of the older
population grows. Figures for life expectancy
at older ages show that at 65, men can expect
to live another 19.2 years and women for 21
further years, similar to figures for England.
Cancer is still the primary cause of deaths in
the Island but the number of cases per year
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is levelling out. However, the data shows that
dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease is now a
significant cause of death - in 2017 there were
104 deaths from this cause, representing 12.4%
of all deaths registered. Significantly more
women than men died from dementia and
Alzheimer’s, most in the over-80 age group.
The report uses a measure known as age
standardised mortality rates (ASMR) which
takes into account the population size
and age range, and is useful for making
comparisons with other jurisdictions and
regions. ASMRs produced for English regions by the
Offi ce for National Statistics have been used
to see which areas we most ‘look’ like. The
Isle of Man’s mortality rates most closely
reflect those in areas classified as ‘Country
Living’ or ‘Prosperous Towns’, mainly in the
East and West Midlands.
Director of Public Health Dr Henrietta Ewart
said: ‘The data we’ve collected gives more
than a snapshot - by looking back over 12
years, we can clearly see trends. This is crucial
information for planning for our population’s
needs, and will help guide decisions about
how we spend public money on health
improvement projects.
She added: ‘We’ve identified the 10 top
causes of deaths among males and females,
thus we know where the challenges lie in
terms of preventing ill health - where that
is possible - and also where demand for
treatments will grow, and more widely, where
research must continue. The report provides
data that will be useful for planning services
and we hope it will also be of interest to a
wider audience.’
The Isle of Man’s
mortality rates mostly
closely reflect those
in areas classified as
‘Country Living’