Cancer was top killer last year

A new report by the Northern Ireland Research and Statistics Agency (NISRA) shows 204 people in Londonderry succumbed to malignant neoplasms - cancerous tumours in lay terms - in 2009.

Last year there were 794 deaths registered in Londonderry. This was up from 767 in 2008.

Circulatory diseases such as Ischaemic Heart Disease (128 deaths) and Respiratory Diseases (127) were also responsible for a large number of deaths.

Londonderry also had the highest number of deaths by suicide (18) outside Belfast. The recorded number of road deaths was 8.

The city had a recorded death rate of 7.3 per 1000 of population which was one of the lower death rates across Northern Ireland.

Last year also saw the lowest death rate in the history of Northern Ireland. The fall in mortality witnessed over the last number of decades has helped drive the ageing of the population.

One outcome of this is the increasing number of deaths of the very elderly; indeed last year saw the largest number of deaths of centenarians ever (98 deaths).

Whilst over half of deaths are caused by three main diseases; cancer (3,900 deaths), ischaemic heart disease (2,300 deaths) and stroke (1,200 deaths); the ageing of the population has also driven changes in causes of death.

Over the last ten years we have seen a 40 per cent increase in deaths due to Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia. In 2009, there were 710 deaths due to Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia.

A NISRA spokesperson said that: "Last year we witnessed the lowest death rate ever recorded in Northern Ireland. Mortality rates today are nearly half of those seen thirty years ago.

"Cancer continues to be the most common cause of death. However as the population ages we are observing more deaths of the very elderly with increasing numbers caused by Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia."