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One underlying condition
- For national mortality statistics, every death is attributed to one underlying condition, based on information reported on the death certificate and using international rules for selecting the underlying cause of death from the conditions stated on the certificate.
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Jan 7, 2022 · COVID-19 was the 3 rd leading cause of death in 2020, with nearly 150,000 more deaths than the 4 th leading cause of death, accidents, and over 250,000 fewer deaths than the 2 nd leading cause of death, cancer. The final, official tally of COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. for 2020 was 350,831.
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On April 22, 2022, this report was posted online as an MMWR Early Release.
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From 2020 to 2021, the age-adjusted U.S. death rate increased by 0.7%, from 835.4 to 841.6 per 100,000 standard population. In 2021, COVID-19 was the underlying or a contributing cause of death for 460,513 deaths (111.4 deaths per 100,000). COVID-19 death rates were highest among males, adults aged ≥85 years, and NH/OPI and AI/AN persons. The highest numbers of overall deaths and COVID-19 deaths occurred during January and September. COVID-19 was the third leading underlying cause of death in 2021, for the second year since the disease emerged (6).
Demographic patterns of mortality were similar in 2020 and 2021, but certain populations experienced shifts in death rates. Although the overall and COVID-19 death rate remained higher for persons aged ≥85 years than for all other age groups, death rates decreased for this age group from 2020 to 2021. Age-adjusted total and COVID-19 death rates remained high for the AI/AN population. Rates decreased for Asian, Hispanic, and Black populations and increased for NH/OPI, White, and AI/AN populations.
The year 2021 saw the highest death rate since 2003, with increases in many leading causes of death, including COVID-19 and unintentional injuries. Although COVID-19 death rates decreased for persons aged ≥85 years, age groups <75 years saw large increases from 2020 to 2021. Unintentional injury deaths were largely driven by drug overdose deaths, and likely contributed to the increased death rate in younger populations. In 2020, drug overdose death rates increased more for persons aged 15–64 years than for persons aged ≥65 years (7).
The findings in this report are subject to at least three limitations. First, data are provisional, and numbers and rates might change as additional information is received. Described changes in mortality trends might be underestimates. Second, timeliness of death certificate submission can vary by jurisdiction. As a result, the national distribution of deaths might be affected by the distribution of deaths reported from jurisdictions reporting later, which might differ from those in the United States overall. Finally, there is a higher potential for misclassification of certain categories of race (i.e., AI/AN or Asian) and Hispanic ethnicity reported on death certificates (8). Thus, death rates for some groups might be underestimated or overestimated.
Provisional death estimates can give researchers and policymakers an early projection of shifts in mortality trends and provide actionable information sooner than do the final mortality data, which are released approximately 11 months after the end of the data year. These data can guide public health policies and interventions aimed at reducing mortality directly or indirectly associated with the pandemic and among persons most affected, including persons who are older, male, or from certain race and ethnic minority groups.
Corresponding author: Farida B. Ahmad, fbahmad@cdc.gov.
1.World Health Organization. ICD-10: international statistical classification of diseases and related health problems, 10th revision. 5th ed. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization; 2016. https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/246208/1/9789241549165-V1-eng.pdfpdf iconexternal icon
2.CDC, National Center for Health Statistics. National Vital Statistics System. Instructions for classifying the underlying cause of death. Hyattsville, MD: US Department of Health and Human Services, CDC, National Center for Health Statistics, 2022. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/manuals/2022/2a-2022.htm
3.CDC. Technical notes: provisional death counts for Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19). Hyattsville, MD: US Department of Health and Human Services, CDC, National Center for Health Statistics; 2021. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/covid19/tech_notes.htm
4.Heron M. Deaths: leading causes for 2017. Natl Vital Stat Rep 2019;68:1–77. PMID:32501203external icon
5.Murphy SL, Kochanek KD, Xu JQ, Arias E. Mortality in the United States, 2020. NCHS data brief, no 427. Hyattsville, MD: US Department of Health and Human Services, CDC, National Center for Health Statistics; 2021. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db427.pdfpdf icon
6.US Census Bureau. National Population by characteristics: 2020–2021. Washington, DC: US Department of Commerce, US Census Bureau; 2021. https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/technical-documentation/research/evaluation-estimates/2020-evaluation-estimates/2010s-national-detail.htmlexternal icon
Provisional estimates indicate a 17.7% increase in the number of deaths in 2020 (the increase in the age-adjusted rate was 15.9%) compared with 2019, with increases in many leading causes of death. 1 The provisional leading cause-of-death rankings for 2020 indicate that COVID-19 was the third leading cause of death in the US behind heart ...
- Farida B Ahmad, Robert N Anderson
- 2021
Dec 7, 2021 · The two most common causes of death fall into this group: cancers kill 18% of people and cardiovascular diseases – such as stroke and ischemic heart disease – are responsible for one-in-three deaths in the world. Shown in red are communicable or infectious diseases; diseases that are caused by a pathogen which can be passed from person to person.
Underlying causes. Causes of death can be structured into immediate causes of death or primary causes of death, conditions leading to cause of death, underlying causes, and further relevant conditions that may have contributed to fatal outcome.
Overall mortality among U.S. adults has been stable in past years; however, racial disparity influenced 10 leading causes of death or age-specific mortality in Blacks or African Americans. Unfortunately, the trends in sex- and race-adjusted age-standardized cause-specific mortality are poorly understood. Methods:
Jan 31, 2022 · According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in 2020, the 10 leading causes of death in the U.S. accounted for 74.1% of the total deaths. Compared to 2019, nine of the top...
