The Rate Of Death In The US Sees The Biggest Raise In The Last Two Decades Due To Diabetes And Heart Disease

In 2020, amid the devastating COVID19 pandemic, the death rate in the US due to heart disease and diabetes has seen its highest increase in the last two decades. A report has shown that the rate of death due to heart disease that has been reducing for a long time has shot up by more than 3 percent in the US during the pandemic. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has said that the average death rate has been nearly 161.5 deaths per 100000 people in 2019. Now it has increased to 167 deaths per 100000 people in the US. As per the data, 32000 more people have lost their lives due to heart disease in 2020 in the United States as compared to 2019. The new report has shown that the rate of death due to diabetes has seen a 14 percent increase in the US during the pandemic. Experts have said that the death rate has increased from 21.6 deaths per 100000 people in 2019 to 24.6 deaths in the same population people in last year. They have claimed that the increase is equivalent to 13000 more deaths due to diabetes in 2020 as compared to before the pandemic.

The new report has also mentioned that the death rates linked to Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, chronic liver disease, stroke, and high blood pressure as well have seen a major increase during the pandemic. The new report has noted that the rate of death due to Alzheimer’s disease has shot up by 8 percent last year. The death rate for Parkinson’s disease has seen an increase of 11 percent during the pandemic in 2020. The rate of mortality has shot up by 12 percent for high blood pressure amid the COVID19 pandemic. While the rate of death linked to stroke has increased by 4 percent in 2020 when the US has been struggling with the brunt of the pandemic. Health experts have said that the increase in the rates of death linked to non-COVID19 issues might be attributed to people who have been afraid to visit hospitals during the pandemic despite having severe symptoms of the specific disease. Experts have said that people have not been able to take care of them properly during lockdowns that have been put in place to stop the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. People have been living a sedentary lifestyle during lockdown that has led them to gain more weight. Many people have skipped their blood pressure medications during the nationwide lockdowns.

The new statistics support the belief that the actual number of death during the pandemic directly or indirectly that is attributed to the SARS-CoV-2 virus might be far higher than what has been reported by the authorities. As per the CDC record, around 595000 people have lost their lives due to the COVID19 disease. On the other hand, the rate of mortality due to cancer has reduced during the pandemic. The rate of death due to cancer has reduced by 2 percent approximately last year, even though cancer screening and care have been disrupted due to the pandemic in 2020. This decline has been similar to the declines that have been reported from 2018 to 2019.