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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 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.

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
Page reviewed: June 22, 2024
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