Covid-19 also had a collateral impact on deaths from other diseases. In the data from January to August 2020, deaths from influenza and pneumonia climbed three places on the list and those caused by diseases of the heart diabetes mellitus, compared to the same period last year.
According to data published by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography, heart disease remains the leading cause of death in Mexico since 141,873 Mexicans died in the first eight months of last year from the ischemic disease.
The Inegi showed that these deaths increased compared to 2019 since they went from 8.2 per 10,000 inhabitants to 11.1, 2.9 more.
With 108 thousand 652 deaths, the covid-19 moved from second place to diabetes mellitus, which fell to third with 99 thousand 733 deaths for this cause. However, the incidence of deaths from this chronic disease increased from 5.5 to 7.8 per 10,000 inhabitants. The fourth cause of death in 2020 was malignant tumors, with 60,421 deaths, and its rate remained at 4.7.
Deaths from influenza and pneumonia were in eighth place in 2019, when 31,081 occurred, but in the preliminary results for 2020, it jumped to fifth place with 29,573 deaths, and the rate per 10,000 inhabitants went from 1.7 in 2019 to 2.3 in the first months of last year.
The increase in some causes of death is likely due to covid-19. In the case of pneumonia and influenza, perhaps some of the unconfirmed cases were coronavirus.
Throughout 2020, specialists the former Secretary of Health, José Narro, indicated that some cases of covid-19 were being classified as influenza and that deaths were being registered as atypical pneumonia.
Other conditions such as heart disease and diabetes increased because propper care was affected since Health Sector's efforts focused on coronavirus.
La Silla Rota published on January 4 that by October 2020, 64.7% fewer consultations had been granted, 56% less attention in the Emergency Department, and 56% fewer surgical interventions than in 2019 in 17 of the 22 National Institutes of Health and Hospitals of Alta Specialty.
In the last six places of causes of death in 2020, Inegi indicated the incidence remained almost the same or even decreased, as in homicides and accidents. The sixth cause of death in 2020 was liver disease, with 27,842 deaths; the seventh was cerebrovascular diseases, with 24,928.
Homicides fell from fifth to eighth place with 22 thousand 798 deaths from this cause, while accidents are in ninth place with 21 thousand 049. The last cause of death is chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, with 15 thousand 847.
(djh)
Traducción: Valentina K. Yanes