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Volume 30, Number 7—July 2024
Research

COVID-19 Death Determination Methods, Minnesota, USA, 2020–20221

Lydia J. FessComments to Author , Ashley Fell, Siobhan O’Toole, Paige D’Heilly, Stacy Holzbauer, Leslie Kollmann, Amanda Markelz, Keeley Morris, Abbey Ruhland, Scott Seys, Elizabeth Schiffman, Haley Wienkes, Zachary Zirnhelt, Stephanie Meyer, and Kathryn Como-Sabetti
Author affiliations: Minnesota Department of Health, Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA (L.J. Fess, A. Fell, S. O’Toole, P. D’Heilly, S. Holzbauer, L. Kollmann, A. Markelz, K. Morris, A. Ruhland, S. Seys, E. Schiffman, H. Wienkes, Z. Zirnhelt, S. Meyer, K. Como-Sabetti); Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA (S. Holzbauer)

Main Article

Table 1

Patient demographic and disease history characteristics for COVID-19 deaths determined by using the Minnesota Department of Health case definition of COVID-19 mortality, March 19, 2020–December 31, 2022*

Patient characteristic Total Confirmed COVID-19 deaths Ruled-out COVID-19 deaths
Sex
M 7,518 (53.7) 7,336 (54.0) 182 (44.1)
F
6,486 (46.3)
6,255 (46.0)
231 (55.9)
Age, y
  0–17 19 (0.14) 14 (0.10) 5 (1.2)
  18–49 561 (4.0) 529 (3.9) 32 (7.8)
  50–59 920 (6.6) 903 (6.6) 17 (4.1)
  60–69 1,921 (13.7) 1,883 (13.9) 38 (9.2)
  70–79 3,176 (22.7) 3,098 (22.8) 78 (18.9)
  >80
7,407 (52.9)
7,164 (52.7)
243 (58.8)
Race/ethnicity
  American Indian/Alaska Native 241 (1.7) 232 (1.7) 9 (2.2)
  Asian/Pacific Islander 517 (3.7) 512 (3.8) 5 (1.2)
  Black/African American 686 (4.9) 668 (4.9) 18 (4.4)
  Hispanic 353 (2.5) 341 (2.5) 12 (2.9)
  Multiracial 62 (0.44) 60 (0.4) 2 (0.48)
  Other or unknown 22 (0.16) 21 (0.2) 1 (0.24)
  White non-Hispanic
12,123 (86.6)
11,757 (86.5)
366 (88.6)
Minnesota region
  Greater Minnesota 6,665 (47.6) 6,501 (47.8) 164 (39.7)
  Minneapolis and Saint Paul metropolitan area
7,339 (52.4)
7,090 (52.2)
249 (60.3)
Living setting
  Private residence 7,018 (50.1) 6,880 (50.6) 138 (33.4)
  Long-term care 6,916 (49.4) 6,645 (48.9) 271 (65.6)
  Other†
70 (0.50)
66 (0.5)
4 (0.97)
Location of death
  Hospital inpatient 6,827 (48.8) 6,748 (49.7) 79 (19.1)
  Congregate living 5,497 (39.3) 5,245 (38.6) 252 (61.0)
  Other‡
1,680 (12.0)
1,598 (11.8)
82 (19.9)
Hospitalization history
  Hospitalized 8,860 (63.3) 8,657 (63.7) 203 (49.2)
  No/unknown
5,144 (36.7)
4,934 (36.3)
210 (50.9)
Autopsy status
  Yes 343 (2.5) 343 (2.5) 0
  No/unknown
13,661 (97.6)
13,248 (97.5)
413 (100.0)
Variant era
  Pre-Alpha 6,853 (48.9) 6,697 (49.3) 156 (37.8)
  Alpha 857 (6.1) 778 (5.7) 79 (19.1)
  Delta 2,851 (20.4) 2,799 (20.6) 52 (12.6)
  Omicron BA.1 1,785 (12.8) 1,754 (12.9) 31 (7.5)
  Omicron BA.2 335 (2.4) 314 (2.3) 21 (5.1)
  Omicron BA.4/BA.5
1,323 (9.5)
1,249 (9.2)
74 (17.9)
Underlying conditions status
  Yes 13,300 (95.0) 12,921 (95.1) 379 (91.8)
  No 192 (1.4) 188 (1.4) 4 (1.0)
  Unknown
512 (3.7)
482 (3.6)
30 (7.3)
Median onset date to death (days, IQR)
15.0 (8.0–27.0)
14.0 (8.0–25.0)
82.0 (30.0–185.0)
Total 14,004 13,591 (97.1) 413 (3.0)

*Values are no. (%) except as indicated. IQR, interquartile range.†Other includes sheltered and unsheltered homeless, jail/prison, dormitories, and other settings.
‡Other includes decedents who died at home, in the emergency department, or in other settings, such as at another private residence.

Main Article

1Preliminary results from this analysis were presented at the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists annual conference; 2023 Jun 25–29; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.

Page created: June 06, 2024
Page updated: June 22, 2024
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