Latest reports show that suicide has overtaken cancer as the main cause of death among South Koreans in their 40s. This happened for the first time since the records began in 1983. The reports show that the country is facing a mental health crisis.

The statistics was published by Statistics Korea, in a report titled "2024 Cause of Death Statistics". The report showed that the country recorded 14,872 suicides last year, which is a 6.3% increase from the previous year, and the highest figure since 2011. The number reported suggest nearly 30 deaths per 100,000 people in the country.

Overall, cancer was a top killer, which accounted for about 25% of total deaths in the country. After that were heart diseases and pneumonia, which made up more than 42% of total deaths. Suicide came at the fifth position, at 4.1%.

While suicide was a leading cause of death among teenagers and people under the age of 30, it became the top cause for people in their 40s only in 2024. Of the 10,386 deaths recorded in that age group, 2,817, which makes it for about 26% were suicides, reported The Korea Herald. In fact, among all the OCED members, which stands for the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, South Korea continues to have the highest suicide rate.

Does It Impact A Specific Gender Disproportionately?

Last year, South Korea stood at 26.2% per 100,000 people, which is more than double the OECD average of 10.8%. Men are more vulnerable to suicide, as they have recorded 2.5% higher rates than women.

Why is that the case? Experts who spoke to The Chosun Daily said that there could be several factors behind the increasing number of suicide, including prolonged economic hardship and rising social pressures.

“It is possible that ordinary citizens, who had barely endured the Covid-19 pandemic, were driven to the brink and took their own lives,” said Yoo Seong-eun, a psychology professor at Chungbuk National University.

A Copy Cat Effect For Suicides

Some observers have also noted the so-called 'Werther Effect', which is a phenomenon where public figures' suicides trigger a spike in copycat cases, especially among those in the similar demography.

This term came from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s 18th-century novel The Sorrows of Young Werther, in which the protagonist dies by suicide.

Baek Jong-woo, who is a psychiatry professor at Kyung Hee University told the daily that the suicide of actor Lee Sun-kyun, who was best known for his Oscar-winning film Parasite, in December 2023, could have had a huge impact. “Mentally unstable men in their late forties to early fifties, similar in age to Mr Lee, might have identified with him,” Baek said.

Is Government Doing Anything About South Korea's Suicide Cases?

The South Korean government has recognised the urgent need to address rising injury-related deaths. As reported by The Korea Herald, it has introduced a new five-year national strategy aimed at reducing fatalities from accidents, falls, and poisonings, currently the fourth leading cause of death and a major reason for hospitalisations.

Notably, under Korean law, suicide is classified as an injury rather than a disease.

Approved by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, the plan outlines targeted suicide-prevention measures, including increased patrols in high-risk areas, installation of carbon monoxide detectors in homes, and stricter oversight of chemicals commonly involved in suicide attempts.

It is very easy for people to miss signs of declining health. However, many times, despite witnessing the symptoms, people choose to ignore it and hope that it goes away. But one must understand, even for illnesses like a simple fever, one needs some type of treatment, even if it is simply rest. Ignoring your health will only lead to worse problems in the future.

One such aspect of health that people often ignore is their leg health. In a recently posted video, Dr. Rema Malik, a Board-Certified Vascular Surgeon in Houston, explained that people often ignore their leg health, the title of the video being, “You Are Your Worst Enemy When It Comes To Your Leg Health.”

The surgeon highlights a pattern of self-sabotage where people frequently ignore or downplay signals from their legs, which can indicate serious circulation problems.

3 Key Symptoms of Declining Leg Health

According to the surgeon, people become their own worst enemy by creating "normal" excuses for symptoms that are actually abnormal. This dismissal stems from the fear of facing a potential circulation issue. The surgeon points out common examples of how people brush off serious signs:

Calf Cramps: Dismissing a recurring, nagging calf cramp as merely a "charley horse."

Swelling: Attributing swollen ankles at night to simply being "on your feet a lot today."

Varicose Veins: Choosing to hide new, painful varicose veins instead of finding out the underlying cause.

The surgeon stresses that while it feels easier to ignore the "whisper from the legs," the moment a person stops making excuses, they become their own best advocate for a future of easy mobility and freedom.

Why Is Leg Health Important?

According to a 2016 study published in the Journal of Nutrition, Health & Aging, the strength and quickness of leg muscles (leg power) are connected to common long-term health problems in older adults, specifically osteoarthritis (joint pain), diabetes, and cardiovascular disease (heart problems).

The main goal was to see what current research says about how these diseases affect leg power, especially since research suggests that older people with these conditions can improve their leg power through exercise.

The team ended up analyzing 16 studies in total: 5 on osteoarthritis, 5 on diabetes, and 6 on heart disease.

Most studies suggested the same thing: older adults with these chronic diseases generally have lower leg power compared to those who don't have the diseases.

The existing research generally shows that osteoarthritis, diabetes, and heart disease are connected to weaker leg power in older adults.

However, scientists can't make strong conclusions yet because the studies reviewed were too different and didn't use the same ways to measure leg power.

Why You Shouldn’t Dismiss Leg Symptoms Especially After 40?

This pattern of ignoring leg symptoms is risky at any age, but the stakes are significantly raised for individuals over the age of 40.

After 40, the risk of developing progressive vein disease and Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD) increases exponentially. These conditions involve serious circulation problems that worsen over time if left untreated.

The surgeon encourages individuals to shine a light on any leg symptom they have been ignoring.

Although we may not realize, many times the food we eat has hidden additives. Things that make the food taste good as well as addictive. In a recent video, a cardiologist is trying to warn people, asking them to check the labels behind their packaged food.

Dmitry Yaranov, a cardiologist based in Memphis, Tennessee, is trying to warn people that cardiovascular disease (CVD) isn't just caused by bad cholesterol. In a video posted on Instagram, he explained that there's a very common ingredient that's hidden everywhere—in sodas, snacks, sauces, and even foods that claim to be "healthy." This ingredient is a huge danger to your heart and is the main reason why people get diabetes. That dangerous ingredient is sugar.

How Sugar Slowly Increases Your Risk Of CVD?

Dr. Yaranov points to solid research that proves there is a strong link between eating sugar every day and having a much higher chance of getting heart disease.

Daily Servings

The risk goes up just by eating one serving of something sugary (like a soda or a candy bar) each day. That single serving is linked to an 18% higher risk of heart disease. If you have two or more servings a day, the risk jumps to 21% higher. This is a big deal, and the risk was found even in people who regularly exercise.

Processed Foods Link

A study from 2025 showed that eating a lot of sugar, especially the sugar found in ultra-processed foods (packaged snacks, ready meals, etc.), raises your risk for heart disease by 17%, increases the risk of blocked heart arteries by 23%, and raises the risk of stroke by 9%.

Global Impact

The problem is massive worldwide. High sugar eating is responsible for over 1 million new heart disease cases and 2.2 million new cases of Type 2 diabetes in just one year.

Mortality (Risk of Death)

The doctor also mentions a study that found people who got 25% or more of their total daily calories from sugar had more than double the risk of dying from heart disease compared to people who kept their sugar intake low (under 10% of total calories).

How Does Sugar Harm Your Body?

The cardiologist explains that sugar does more than just add unneeded calories; it actually attacks the healthy systems in your body that look after your heart and how your body uses energy.

• It causes inflammation (swelling and irritation) throughout the body.
• It causes your blood pressure to go up.
• It makes your cholesterol levels worse.

It messes up your blood sugar control, making it hard for your body to manage energy. This is a "double hit" because it harms both your heart and your pancreas (the organ that makes insulin).

How Much Sugar Can You Eat?

To help protect your health, the cardiologist advises everyone to follow the simple rules for sugar set by the American Heart Association (AHA):

Women: Should eat no more than 6 teaspoons of added sugar per day, about 100 calories worth.

Men: Should eat no more than 9 teaspoons of added sugar per day, about 150 calories worth.

The big issue is that most people eat two or three times these recommended limits without even knowing it because sugar is hidden in so many foods. The doctor strongly urges everyone to start checking food labels carefully and actively working to limit their sugar intake to keep their heart strong and their blood sugar stable.

A new study has found that a single blood pressure reading taken when a person is just 7 years old can have a surprisingly big impact on their risk of dying from cardiovascular disease (CVD), or heart problems, many years later. Researchers from different US universities discovered that children with high blood pressure faced a significantly greater chance of an early death because of heart issues. This finding tells us that screening children's health early is extremely important.

The study, published in the medical journal JAMA, highlights how important early health screenings are by showing a clear connection between a child's blood pressure and their long-term health outcome. Children who had elevated blood pressure, meaning it was higher than normal, in the top 10 percent of kids or high blood pressure, in the top 5 percent were about 40 to 50 percent more likely to meet an early death from heart and blood vessel disease. That's a huge jump in risk.

How Can Blood Pressure Predict How Long You Live?

Researchers explained that they were shocked to find out how elevated blood pressure could affect children later on in life. This means that this shows that health problems start much earlier than previously thought.

The team looked at medical records for 37,081 children born in the US between 1959 and 1965, specifically checking their blood pressure at age 7. They checked back in with these people in their early fifties. Out of this large group, nearly 500 people had died from cardiovascular diseases.

While the total number of people who died from heart-related issues in the study was small, the dramatic increase in risk for the group with high blood pressure was a very important finding that deserves attention.

How Does High Blood Pressure in Childhood Affect Mortality Rate?

There are a few things to keep in mind about this research. The biggest is that blood pressure was only measured once at age 7, not checked regularly throughout the people's lives. Also, the data comes from the 1950s and 1960s, so today's children might have different health challenges.

The researchers also looked at a smaller group of 359 people from the same families. Since the results were similar for children in the same households, it suggests that the high blood pressure itself is the main problem, rather than other things families share like diet or neighborhood.

Besides heart disease, high blood pressure can cause other serious problems like kidney disease, vision loss, and plaque buildup in the arteries. These results "highlight the importance of screening for blood pressure in childhood and focusing on strategies to promote optimal cardiovascular health beginning in childhood," Freedman concluded.

What Causes High Blood Pressure In Children?

High blood pressure (hypertension) in children and teenagers can happen for a few different reasons. Sometimes it's caused by lifestyle factors, and other times it's a side effect of another medical condition.

• If high blood pressure runs in the family, a child is more likely to develop it.
• Being overweight or obese significantly increases the risk.
• Black children are at a higher risk for high blood pressure, just as Black adults are.
• Eating too much salt (sodium) or too many calories can contribute to the problem.
• Having diabetes is a risk factor.
• Being born with a low birth weight or being born prematurely (too early).
• Disorders of the kidneys or problems with the heart or blood vessels.
• Certain hormonal disorders.
• Sleep apnea, a condition where breathing stops and starts during sleep.