Deaths
In St. Vincent and the Grenadines, diabetes is ranked among the three
leading causes of death. Figures from the 2001 Digest of Health Statistics
published by the Ministry of Health and the Environment show that
84 persons died of diabetes in 1999, 61 in 2000 and 103 in 2001. These
figures represent 10.0%, 8.7% and 13.7% of the total number of recorded
deaths for the respective years. |
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Amputations
Diabetes continues to account for most of the amputations done at
the country's main health facility - the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital
(MCMH). In 2001 diabetes was responsible fo 60.4% of the total amputations.
The figure was increased to 65% in 2002.
The average length of stay at the MCMH for a diabetic with an amputation
is 52 days and the average cost of treating such patient is EC$13,000.00 |
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Clinic
Visits
Diabetes is also among the top 10 causes for hospital admissions and
is one of the first five diseases responsible for clinic visits.
The clinic visits for diabetes have been increasing year after year.
In 2002 diabetes accounted for 4,070 visits - 11% of the total clinic
visits for all conditions for the year. Hypertension which recorded
30% and the combination of hypertension and diabetes which was responsible
for 16.8% of the total visits, were the other two leading causes of
clinic visits for the said year.
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