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Volume 30, Number 7—July 2024
Research
COVID-19 Death Determination Methods, Minnesota, USA, 2020–20221
, 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
Table 2
Median days from date of death to filing of death certificate, by demographic and disease history characteristics, for confirmed COVID-19 deaths detected by using the Minnesota Department of Health COVID-19 mortality case definition, March 19, 2020–December 31, 2022*
| Patient characteristic | No. | Days from date of death to death certificate filing, median (IQR) | p value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sex | 0.0002† | ||
| M | 7,336 | 3 (2–6) | |
| F |
6,255 |
3 (2–5) |
|
| Age, y | <0.0001† | ||
| 0–17 | 14 | 40 (4–95) | |
| 18–49 | 529 | 6 (3–20) | |
| 50–59 | 903 | 4 (2–7) | |
| 60–69 | 1,883 | 4 (2–6) | |
| 70–79 | 3,098 | 3 (2–5) | |
| >80 |
7,164 |
3 (1–5) |
|
| Race/ethnicity | <0.0001† | ||
| American Indian/Alaska Native | 232 | 5 (3–7) | |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 512 | 6 (3–14) | |
| Black/African American | 668 | 6 (3–13.5) | |
| Hispanic | 341 | 4 (2–7) | |
| Multiracial | 60 | 4 (2–8) | |
| Other or Unknown | 21 | 4 (3–5) | |
| White, non-Hispanic |
11,757 |
3 (2–5) |
|
| Minnesota region | <0.0001† | ||
| Greater Minnesota | 6,501 | 3 (1,–4) | |
| Minneapolis and Saint Paul metropolitan area |
7,090 |
4 (2–6) |
|
| Living setting | <0.0001† | ||
| Private residence | 6,880 | 3 (2–6) | |
| Long-term care | 6,645 | 3 (1–5) | |
| Other‡ |
66 |
7.5 (3–19) |
|
| Location of death | <0.0001† | ||
| Hospital inpatient | 6,748 | 3 (2–6) | |
| Congregate living | 5,245 | 3 (1–5) | |
| Other§ |
1,598 |
4 (2–10) |
|
| Hospitalization history | <0.0001† | ||
| Hospitalized | 8,657 | 3 (2–5) | |
| No/unknown |
4,934 |
3 (1–5) |
|
| Autopsy status | <0.0001† | ||
| Yes | 343 | 22 (5–45) | |
| No/unknown |
13,248 |
3 (2–5) |
|
| Variant era | <0.0001† | ||
| Pre-alpha | 6,697 | 3 (2–5) | |
| Alpha | 778 | 3 (2–5) | |
| Delta | 2,799 | 3 (2–6) | |
| Omicron BA.1 | 1,754 | 3 (2–6) | |
| Omicron BA.2 | 314 | 3 (2–5) | |
| Omicron BA.4/5 |
1,249 |
3 (2–5) |
|
| Underlying conditions | 0.0038† | ||
| Yes | 12,921 | 3 (2–5) | |
| No | 188 | 4 (2–8) | |
| Unknown | 482 | 3 (2–6) | |
| Total | 13,591 | 3 (2–5) |
*Values are no. (%) except as indicated. IQR, interquartile range.†Statistically significant at p = 0.05. p values are for median 1-way analysis. ‡Other includes sheltered and unsheltered homeless, jail/prison–dormitories, and other settings. §Other includes decedents who died at home, in the emergency department, and in other settings, such as at another private residence.
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.