COVID-19, other diseases caused historic deaths in South Dakota | New

the interim report also found that deaths from diabetes, liver disease and unintentional injury reached their highest levels in a decade. As the pandemic disrupted healthcare, doctors worried that people could see complications from other chronic illnesses, especially when patients avoided regular appointments or delayed elective procedures to avoid catching COVID-19.

A total of 9,857 South Dakotas died in 2020, which was the highest figure in at least a decade. Heart disease and cancer were the leading causes of death, followed by COVID-19, which killed 1,496 people, KELO-TV reported Tuesday. While the virus increased in South Dakota from last September to January, the state reported its highest monthly death rates in over 50 years.

Last year, the 329 deaths from diabetes and 235 deaths from chronic liver disease and cirrhosis were the highest in a decade. Meanwhile, deaths from cerebrovascular disease – which refers to conditions that affect blood flow to the brain like a stroke – have reached their highest number since 2014.

Dr Kara Dahl, president of the South Dakota State Medical Association, said in her work as an emergency physician, she has observed an increase in the number of people requiring treatment for mental health crises, l alcohol abuse and undiagnosed cancer. She noted that increasing alcohol consumption could contribute to many health problems, including liver and heart disease.

“Even during the pandemic, it is still important to take care of other aspects of a person’s health and well-being,” she said.

The health ministry also reported that unintentional injuries, which would cover events such as car crashes, reached a 10-year high, with 568 people killed. Dahl said there were indications that although fewer people took to the road in the early months of the pandemic, they engaged in riskier behaviors like speeding or driving under the influence of drugs or driving. ‘alcohol.

Health officials noted that 176 people who tested positive for the virus died from causes other than COVID-19. These deaths were not included in the COVID-19 count.

South Dakota has seen COVID-19 cases drop to new lows in recent months, but Health Secretary Kim Malsam Rysdon has warned the state remains vulnerable to new outbreaks, especially as the more contagious delta variant circulates among those who have not been vaccinated against the virus.

About 46% of the state’s population has been fully immunized, which is lower than the national average, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.