Table 2. Mortality rate by cause of death and sex among patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in Taiwan, 2003–2008.

Underlying cause of death	Males		Females		All
	n	Mortalitya	n	Mortalitya	n	Mortalitya
Respiratory diseases	98	9.14	53	8.58	151	8.93
Cardiovascular diseases	17	1.58	15	2.43	32	1.89
Metabolic diseases	9	0.84	5	0.81	14	0.83
Urinary system diseases	8	0.75	3	0.49	11	0.65
Cancer	8	0.75	1	0.16	9	0.53
Suicide	5	0.47	1	0.16	6	0.36
Digestive system diseases	5	0.47	0	0	5	0.30
Diseases of the musculoskeletal system or connective tissue	8	0.75	2	0.32	10	0.59
Symptoms, signs, and ill-defined conditions	27	2.52	16	2.59	43	2.54
Nervous system diseases	3	0.28	2	0.32	5	0.30
Unknown	6	0.36	5	0.81	11	0.65
Total	194	17.99	103	16.84	297	17.57

^aPer 100 person-years.