Provisional Mortality Data - United States, 2021.
Level 4 - case-series / case-control
Descriptive national population surveillance and vital statistics registry analysis.
PubMed 35482572 · doi:10.15585/mmwr.mm7117e1
What was done
The CDC National Center for Health Statistics analyzed provisional death certificate data from the National Vital Statistics System for deaths occurring in the United States in 2021. Researchers calculated total deaths, age-adjusted death rates, leading causes of death, and demographic breakdowns by age, sex, and race or ethnicity, comparing rates between 2020 and 2021.
What was found
In 2021, approximately 3,458,697 deaths occurred in the United States. The age-adjusted death rate increased by 0.7% from 835.4 per 100,000 standard population in 2020 to 841.6 per 100,000 in 2021. COVID-19 was reported as an underlying or contributing cause in an estimated 460,513 deaths (13.3% of all deaths; 111.4 deaths per 100,000). The top three leading causes of death by underlying cause were heart disease, cancer, and COVID-19. Overall death rates were highest among persons aged 85 years and older, males, and non-Hispanic American Indian or Alaska Native and non-Hispanic Black populations. COVID-19 death rates were highest among persons aged 85 years and older, males, and non-Hispanic Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander and American Indian or Alaska Native populations.
Why it matters
This report provides early population-level surveillance on US mortality shifts and racial or ethnic disparities during the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic to inform public health interventions.
Limits
Data are provisional and based on incomplete death certificate investigations and processing, which may lead to revisions. The abstract does not provide specific death counts or rates for causes other than COVID-19.
Cited by
- supports Over 584,000 individuals aged 50 and older died from COVID-19 in the United States as of mid-2021.