Respiratory Deaths Surge 11% in Q2 2024: Insights from The Irish Times

Respiratory Deaths Surge 11% in Q2 2024: Insights from The Irish Times

November 30, 2024 Catherine Williams - Chief Editor Health

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) released the vitality statistics for the second quarter of 2024.

Births and Deaths Data

  • Registered births decreased by 93 or 0.7%, totaling 13,354 births from April to June 2024 compared to the same period in 2023.
  • There were 8,804 registered deaths, an increase of 55 or 0.6% from the previous year.

Causes of Death

  • Deaths from chronic lower respiratory diseases rose by 10% (from 472 to 522).
  • Pneumonia deaths increased by 17% (from 209 to 245).
  • Deaths from influenza jumped from 9 to 33, marking a rise of 266%.

Death Statistics

  • Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumors) caused 29.4% of deaths, and diseases of the circulatory system accounted for 27.3%.
  • Fifty-seven infants under one year old died, resulting in an infant mortality rate of 4.3 deaths per 1,000 live births.
  • There were 37 neonatal deaths, with a mortality rate of 2.8 per 1,000 live births, up from 2.5 in 2014.

Mother’s Age and Marital Status

  • The average age of mothers was 33.2 years, slightly down from 33.3 years last year.
  • Nearly 40% of births were outside marriage or civil partnerships.

Marriage Statistics

  • There were 5,359 marriages registered, down from 5,560 in the second quarter of 2023.
  • Of these, 176 were same-sex marriages.
  • The marriage rate was four marriages per 1,000 population.

This data reflects trends in health and family structure during the second quarter of 2024. The CSO continues to monitor these vital statistics to inform public health and policy.