Could this be the cause of my Hamster's death?

He died on January 3rd this year, at age 1 1/2. Which isn't too bad, adverage life expectancy is 2 years. But I'm wondering if these could have played a role in his passing-
He had wood shavings in his cage as bedding. I didn't realize until after he was gone that some hamsters are allergic to some woods. He used to itch himself an awful lot, was he allergic?
Also just weeks before he became sluggish and weak, and soon following death, I had been cleaning his cage every other week instead of every week, as you should. I was busy but, still nit a good excuse.
Could those two could have contributed to death? He had no harmful passing, he died in his sleep early afternoon.