AKLAN – Ischaemic heart diseases remained the leading cause of death in Aklan in 2024, accounting for 573 fatalities or 12.88 percent of the province’s total recorded deaths, according to the latest Vital Statistics Report of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
The report, released on October 31, 2026, showed that 338 of the recorded deaths were males, representing about 59 percent, while 235 were females, or 41 percent.
Neoplasms ranked second with 465 deaths (10.45 percent), followed by hypertensive diseases with 436 (9.80 percent), pneumonia with 434 (9.76 percent), and cerebrovascular diseases with 316 (7.10 percent).
Other leading causes of death were diabetes mellitus with 283 cases (6.36 percent); chronic lower respiratory diseases, 270 (6.07 percent); other heart diseases, 195 (4.38 percent); respiratory tuberculosis, 141 (3.17 percent); and diseases of the genitourinary system, 104 (2.34 percent).
Among the 10 leading causes, respiratory tuberculosis had the highest proportion of male fatalities, with 110 of the 141 deaths, or 78 percent.
Neoplasms, meanwhile, were more prevalent among females, accounting for 253 of the 465 deaths, or approximately 54 percent.
Compared with 2023, chronic lower respiratory diseases posted the largest increase among the leading causes of death, rising by 22.7 percent from 220 cases to 270 in 2024.
Deaths due to diabetes mellitus also increased by 11 percent, from 255 to 283, while respiratory tuberculosis cases rose by 7.6 percent, from 131 to 141.
In contrast, deaths caused by ischaemic heart diseases decreased by 3.2 percent, from 592 in 2023 to 573 in 2024.
The PSA said the vital statistics on deaths were compiled from death certificates submitted monthly by local civil registry offices across Aklan./PN
