Diabetes most common factor in local COVID deaths
(CNS): Of the three dozen deaths in Cayman meeting the local definition for a COVID-19 death, one-third of the victims suffered from diabetes while eight had chronic kidney disease, according to the Public Health Department. Although 23 patients had hypertension at the time of their deaths, officials said in the latest edition of Public Health Spotlight that that common condition doesn’t necessarily increase the risk of mortality. Hospital admissions for the virus fell last month and there was just one death.
While there is no internationally agreed definition of a death attributed to COVID-19 death, Cayman adopted the definition used in the UK, which is any case where a patient died within 28 days of a positive test. During the pandemic, there have been 36 deaths which meet this definition reported by the COVID-19 national public health surveillance. The Cayman Islands General Registry also holds a record of all deaths on-island, including those which have COVID-19 mentioned on the death certificate.
During the pandemic, there have been 31 deaths recorded on the death registry where COVID-19 is mentioned on the death certificate. There are 29 deaths which are included in both the death registry with COVID-19 on the death certificate and the COVID-19 national public health surveillance.
There are an additional seven deaths which are reported by the COVID-19 public health surveillance which do not have COVID-19 detailed on the death certificate. There are also two deaths which have COVID-19 recorded on the death certificate but do not meet the definition of a COVID-19 death in the public health surveillance.
In the first instance, it is likely that the victims died of entirely unrelated causes, such as an accident, but had tested positive in the previous month. In the latter, a patient may have had COVID-19 some time ago, worsening underlying conditions.
National Epidemiologist Rachel Corbett said, “The COVID-19 death certificate relates to what the clinician reports and it’s possible that an individual has tested positive in the 28 days before death (therefore captured in the public health surveillance) but that the clinician is not aware of this, especially if the individual was not symptomatic.”
Officials also said, “Individuals who have been reported as COVID-19 deaths in the surveillance often had other medical conditions, commonly referred to as underlying comorbidities,” officials said. “Some of these conditions may mean the patient is more likely to have a severe infection if infected with COVID-19.”
The two tables published in this monthly roundup show the conditions likely to increase the risk of death and other medical conditions that did not necessarily make the virus more lethal for patients. In several cases, patients may have had more than one condition present.
The Spotlight report also notes that there are no cases of monkeypox or cholera despite the presence of both in the region. The recent case of dengue on Cayman Brac was not included in this report.
The health roundup also discusses the health of men and boys as “Mo’vember” is a month-long awareness, education and fundraising effort that focuses on men’s mental health, suicide prevention, and prostate and testicular cancer. International Men’s Day (IMD) on 19 November celebrates the positive value men bring to the world, their families and communities while highlighting men’s well-being.
See the full issue below, with the relevant tables on pages 9 and 10:
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Category: Health, Medical Health, Mental Health
Nov 8th 2022: “Toronto’s top doctor urged to look at mandatory masking in schools as sick kids swamp hospitals”. COVID, various flus, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) all coming into bloom as northern climates head indoors.
Cardiovascular Disease, of which type 2 Diabetes is a symptom, is the number 1 killer of men and women everywhere. Statistically, >12% of those eating a “Western Diet” heavy in red meat, pork, chicken, shrimp, eggs, and dairy, will one day be in this life-shortening position, with or without COVID. Increasing dietary fibre via plant based choices not only helps pause this deadly progression of athrosclerosis plaque buildup, but it can reverse a lifetime of damage, cleaning out the vascular structures and restoring impaired endothelial function. Measurable impacts on lipids within two weeks of diet change.
08@10:57am – I agree but not unlike populations in many countries.
So called “developed” countries including US, Australia,Europe have high rates of poor nutrition, some regionally some nationally. Poor eating habits and the results thereof aren’t confined to Cayman.
Agreed and Seconded, not confined to Cayman but truthfully Caribbean dishes are more heavily starch and not well balanced which was managable back in the day when people were more active. We can do better. But Im on the opposite side of this perspective that covid does not have an impact on these deaths and it must have been the other cormobities. From my unmedical sight, people have been living with diabetes, kidney issues, obesity for years and yes they do succumb to them sometimes but the shear increase in death occurence when you throw covid in the mix is undeniable. It weakens your immune system like other flus, if a system is already vulnerable due to these cormorbities and sort of speak it is that straw that breaks the camels back. I for one dont understand how people cannot understand that yes! Covid is a contribution to their demise because they had these issues already, its covid strains that are new, and the proof is in the increase of death in people with those cormorbities.
“Diabetes”. Yeah right, the correct answer is obesity.
You do know that there are average weight, even slim people with diabetes right? You do know that there are average weight, even slim people with high cholestorol suffering from heart attacks right? If the data reflected a higher reoccurence in Diabetics, thats just what it is.
Yeah, but it’s type 2 and that is basically obesity caused for the vast majority.
it’s a contributor to diabetes, but not the main cause .
“there is no internationally agreed definition of a death attributed to COVID-19 death, Cayman adopted the definition used in the UK, which is any case where a patient died within 28 days of a positive test”
I wonder how many people are actually understanding this.
But that test only produced roughly accurate data for the first six months of covid, when the cases that were just a coincidence of timing more or less were offset by the excess deaths that did not have a test before death and when testing was sparse and largely limited to hospital admissions after symptoms started.
Later in the pandemic with more testing and better treatments people lived far longer between a positive test and a covid death so that metric became useless and was only used by Johnson to minimise the short term death numbers for political spin purposes.
A lack of testing at the outset and constant testing of even the asymptomatic later on obviously distorts the figures. Someone who died of covid 90 days after first testing positive wouldn’t have “rolled off” the covid positive list, they were getting repeatedly test. Lol what nonsense you’re trying to push. You don’t like Johnson, got it.
Excess deaths show the true picture.
Yes, excess deaths do show the better picture and they prove my points exactly. Excess deaths more or less tracked the 28 day immediate figures at the beginning but then the 28 day stats started to diverge from excess deaths. Johnson knew that but wanted low numbers to push his personal agenda. The 28 day window was only measured from a first positive test and after 10 days or so they would have tested negative even if the effects were going to go on a kill them. We get it, you liked Johnson.
the level of ignorance about basic nutrition amongst caymanians is staggering….
Please enlighten us, o Bard of Basic nutrition. 🙁
and the cycle will continue…look at obesity in young people and their shocking levels of inactivity.
reports have proven we have one of the least active childrens populations in the world.
what do you expect from a set of generally obese mla’s???
welcome to wonderland.
The childern are conditioned from an earlt age. Look at how the school bus stops outside every house and in the middle of the road to pick up the kids. They dont even walk to a bus stop to be picked up as a group. We are conditioning them to become the lazy adults who park outside the supermarket doors when the car park is empty.
obesity and diabetes are the real killers,,,,
why do we accept and promote unhealthy caribbean and north american junk food diet??
eat less, do more, live longer.
Hmmm, actually Heart Disease, Cancer, Accidents and respitory issues are the biggest killers globally. Heart disease does not independently correlate to obesity and diabetes just like its not independentñy correlated to Cholestoral, smoking or other abnormalties. Look at that dude from the biggest loser, staggering knowledge in nutrition, fitter than a fiddle, makes his money on educating people on nutrition yet wound up with Cholestoral so bad he had a massive heart attack. Look at the many Caymanians stroking out and with heart issues, from the prolonged use of drugs. My point is there are so many factors not taken in account, so much unknown like how two healthy, vaccinated, none comorbity people get sick and 1 lives and another dies. Like how ur entire house less one person will catch it and you all eat the same meals and share the same vax stats.
how many under 70, without serious illness, who were vaxxed, died from covid in cayman?
zero. it has always been the answer and will always be the answer.
How many under 70, without serious illness and were NOT vaxxed died from covid in Cayman?
Zero. it has always been the answer and will always be the answer.
how many vaxxed people were saved from hospitalised???
anti-vax muppett.
So could you say they died of diabetes or kidney disease?
No, you could not. In most cases, those with severe comorbidities would still be successfully managing them, if not for having contracted Covid.
I don’t understand why people like you struggle with it so. If you don’t give a crap about the elderly, then just say so, and we will all shake our heads sadly and move on.
Yes.