Durrant Pate/Contributor

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases are the leading domestic causes of death, according to the Jamaica Population Health Status Report 1995 – 2023, which was tabled in Parliament earlier this week.

The report, published by the National Epidemiology Branch of the Ministry of Health and Wellness, showed that in 2023, the proportion of all deaths attributed to NCDs was 78.5 per cent. This equates to 17,180 (males, 8,842; females, 8,338) Jamaicans dying that year from NCDs.

Although the total number of deaths from NCDs was higher in males than females, proportionately more of the female deaths (86.2 per cent) than male deaths (72.3 per cent) in 2023 were due to NCDS. 

The report also looked at premature NCDs mortality, where in 2022 the probability of a 30-year-old Jamaican dying before reaching his/her 70th birthday from cardiovascular diseases, cancers, diabetes, or chronic respiratory diseases, was 20.0%. 

This figure represents a slight increase from 19.7 per cent in 1997. Jamaica has set a target of reducing by one-third premature mortality from NCDs by 2030 through prevention and treatment, and the promotion of mental health and well-being. 

Diabetes mellitus the #1 leading cause of death in Jamaica in 2022

Diabetes mellitus was ranked as the leading cause of death among Jamaicans in 2023. This disease accounted for 79.9 deaths per 100,000 population, an increase from 1996 when the mortality rate was 60.2 per 100,000 population. 

Deaths from diabetes mellitus between 1996 and 2023 have been higher in Jamaican females than males. In 2023, there were 87.4 deaths per 100,000 population among females and 70.8 among males attributed to diabetes.

Cerebrovascular, hypertensive diseases mortality rate

Cerebrovascular diseases, for example, stroke, were the second leading cause of death in 2023, with a mortality rate of 78.2 deaths per 100,000 population. This represents a decline from 84.7 deaths per 100,000 population in 1996. 

Throughout the period from 1997 to 2023, mortality rates from these diseases were consistently higher in males than in females. Hypertensive disease became the third leading cause of death in Jamaica in 2023. 

In 1996, 37.0 per 100,000 population died as a result of hypertensive disease; this increased to 52.1 per 100,000 population in 2023. Between 1996 and 2023, male and female deaths from hypertensive diseases increased by 45.7 per cent and 37.1 per cent, respectively.

In 1996, 39.9 people in every 100,000 Jamaicans died from ischaemic heart disease, such as cardiac arrest (heart attack), compared to 47.5 in 2023. Throughout the period, the number of deaths from ischaemic heart disease was consistently higher in males than in females.

Deaths from respiratory diseases fluctuated from 1996 to 2022. In 1996, the mortality rate was 20.8 per 100,000 population; 23.0 in 2021, and 20.2 per 100,000 population in 2022. Throughout the period, more males died from respiratory diseases than females.

Cancer mortality rate

Deaths from cancer in Jamaica increased from 109.3 per 100,000 in 1996 to 134.5 per 100,000 in 2023. In 2023, the cancer mortality rate among men was 147.3 per 100,000 population, compared to 124.9 per 100,000 population among women. 

In 2023, prostate cancer was the seventh leading cause of death for Jamaican men and continued to be the top cause of cancer-related deaths. In 2023, 46.3 men per 100,000 population (716 deaths) died from prostate cancer. This represents a 31.5 per cent increase from 35.2 per 100,000 population in 1996. 

Breast cancer is the leading cause of death due to cancer in Jamaican women. Between 1996 and 2023, there was an increase in breast cancer deaths. In 2023, 299 women died from breast cancer. This equates to 32.3 deaths per 100,000 women compared to 17.0 deaths per 100,000 women in 1996. 

In 2023, there were 175 deaths due to cervical cancer. There was a general decline in cervical cancer deaths between 1996 (18.0 deaths per 100,000) and 2023 (11.6 deaths per 100,000 women).

Colorectal cancer mortality rate

Colorectal cancer, commonly referred to as colon cancer, affects both men and women. In 1996, in every 100,000 Jamaicans, 7.7 people died from colon cancer, which increased to 15.5 in 2023. This equates to 480 deaths from colon cancer in 2023.

Endometrial cancer, which affects the lining of the uterus, resulted in 96 deaths in 2022. This equates to 5.9 deaths per 100,000 Jamaican women, an increase from 3.1 per 100,000 women in 2006.