Manama: The number of deaths recorded in Qatari hospitals under Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) in 2009 has tripled in one year, a study indicates.
Statistics in a “Mortality according to Gender and Cause” study show that 2,292 cases of death were registered at HMC last year, up from 761 cases in 2008, Qatari daily The Peninsula reported on Friday.
Almost two thirds of the cases (1,496) were of foreigners while 796 cases were of Qatari nationals.
Almost half of the cases, 964 or 42.06 per cent of the total, were of natural death, while accidents took some 909 lives, (39.65 per cent) and 419 deaths (18.29 per cent) were caused by premature birth.
In 2008, diseases related to the circulatory system were the main cause of death, based on the international classification of diseases. These diseases caused 281 deaths, of which 128 were of Qataris and 153 were of foreigners.
Tumours were the second major cause of death in 2008, taking the lives of 175 people, of which 80 were Qataris and 95 were foreigners. Endocrine and nutrition related issues caused 101 deaths, 61 among Qataris and 40 among foreigners, the daily reported.
Respiratory diseases were the fourth main cause of death and killed 77 people, including 39 Qataris and 38 foreigners.
A total of 47 people -21 Qataris and 26 foreigners – died in 2008 of diseases related to the digestive system.
Infections of various kinds took 31 lives while problems related to haematology and immunity caused 10 deaths. Seven people, of whom five were Qataris, died due to dermatological problems.
Though the number of deaths increased last year compared to 2008, accident-related deaths declined considerably, the study said.
However, the number of deaths due to premature birth was high at 18.29 per cent.
