COVID-19 death comorbidities in Canada / by Kathy O'Brien, Marylène St-Jean, Patricia Wood, Stephanie Willbond, Owen Phillips, Duncan Currie and Martin Turcotte.StatCan COVID-19 : data to insights for a better Canada
"Release date: November 16, 2020."
"There is now clear evidence that people with pre-existing chronic conditions or compromised immune systems are at higher risk of dying of COVID-19..., especially among those over the age of 80. It is now possible, using provisional results from the Canadian Vital Statistics Death Database (CVSD), to identify the most common chronic conditions among Canadians who have died from COVID-19 during the first wave of the pandemic.
In Canada, the Canadian Vital Statistics Death Database (CVSD) is the authoritative source for cause of death data, including COVID-19 deaths. In addition to identifying the underlying cause of death, the CVSD also includes information on the contributing causes and conditions (or comorbidities). In the context of a death caused by COVID-19, these include other diseases or conditions, such as diabetes or hypertension, that likely put those individuals at higher risk of death from COVID-19. While there may be challenges associated with the distinction
between chronic conditions and other causes, as well as the nature of these with respect to COVID-19, the CVSD data provides additional insight on COVID-19 related deaths.
Using the latest multiple cause of death data from the CVSD, this article presents information about the most common chronic and acute conditions, diseases, disorders, and complications appearing on the medical certificate of cause of death where COVID-19 was involved in the death, to provide preliminary insights to COVID-19 comorbidities. This does not consider the relative importance of the additional disease or condition, nor its relationship to COVID-19,
and is similar to that used by the by the National Center for Health Statistics in its weekly COVID-19 updates.... Also examined is the extent to which these diseases and conditions differ by sex and by age groups.
Unless otherwise stated, the data in this paper are based on deaths in the CVSD where COVID-19 was identified as either the underlying cause of death or a contributing cause or condition that occurred from March 1 to July 31, 2020."