COVID-19 has become the third leading cause of death in United States for two consecutive years

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COVID-19 has become the third leading cause of death in United States for two consecutive years

COVID-19 has become the third leading cause of death in United States for two consecutive years: accounting for 13.3%, second only to heart disease and cancer.
　　

According to the latest Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), COVID-19 has become the third leading cause of death in the United States for the second year in a row, after heart disease and cancer.

Looking at the data, in 2021, more than 1 in 8 deaths in the United States will be caused by COVID-19, up from about 1 in 10 deaths in 2020.

The COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S. has also caused a significant drop in U.S. life expectancy. According to a report written in April by public health experts in Colorado, Virginia and Washington, D.C., life expectancy for the entire U.S. population was 78.86 years in 2019, 76.99 years in 2020, and 76.6 years in 2021. These are rare declines in U.S. history.

In other words, the COVID-19 epidemic in the United States for two years has reduced the life expectancy of the United States by 2.26 years. Available data show that the largest overall decline in life expectancy in the U.S. population occurred in 1943 (a 2.9-year decline), when the number of U.S. deaths in World War II peaked.

The CDC states that if COVID-19 is the cause of death on a death certificate, it will be counted as a cause of death from COVID-19. If COVID-19 did not cause or contribute to the death, it is not reported on the death certificate.

These provisional figures are based on death certificate data received but have not been adequately reviewed by the National Center for Health Statistics, and final annual mortality figures are usually released 11 months after the end of the year.

But the report emphasizes that provisional death estimates provide an early indication of changes in mortality trends that can guide public health policy aimed at reducing mortality directly or indirectly related to the pandemic, as well as those of those most affected. and interventions.

COVID-19 has become the third leading cause of death in United States for two consecutive years

This latest report provides an overview of provisional U.S. mortality data for 2021, including a comparison of 2020 and 2021 mortality.

In 2021, there will be an estimated 3,458,697 deaths in the United States. From 2020 to 2021, the overall age-adjusted U.S. death rate increased by 0.7%, from 835.4 to 841.6 per 100,000 standard population.

During the weeks of January 16, 2021 and September 11, 2021, deaths The death toll peaked at 87,222 and 73,466, respectively, the two months with the highest number of deaths.

COVID-19 has become the third leading cause of death in United States for two consecutive years

Of all the above-mentioned deaths, COVID-19 was reported to be the underlying cause or contributing cause of approximately 460,513 (13.3%), or 111.4 deaths per 100,000 people. This is up from 384,536 deaths in 2020, or 93.2 deaths per 100,000 people from COVID-19.

In 2021, the U.S. COVID-19 mortality rate will be lowest among those aged 1-4 (0.4 per 100,000) and 5-14 (0.4 per 100,000) and highest among those aged 85 and older (0.4 per 100,000) 1395.7 among people).

However, while the overall and COVID-19 mortality rates for people aged 85 and over remained higher than all other age groups, mortality rates for this age group declined between 2020 and 2021.

Interestingly, from 2020 to 2021, COVID-19 mortality rates rose in all age groups except those 85 and older. As with overall deaths, the age-adjusted COVID-19-related death rate in 2021 will be higher for men (140.0 per 100,000) than women (87.7 per 100,000).

By race and ethnicity, the highest overall mortality rates were for non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Native and non-Hispanic black or African American.

Overall, COVID-19 is the third leading cause of death in the United States in 2021 after heart disease (693,021 deaths) and cancer (604,553 deaths), the report said. COVID-19 was the underlying cause of 13.3% of deaths in 2021, up from 10.4% in 2020 (350,831 deaths).

Looking at other causes of death, unintentional injuries were the fourth leading cause of death in 2020 and 2021, increasing from 200,955 in 2020 to 219,487 in 2021. In addition, the rankings of other leading causes of death, except kidney disease, influenza and pneumonia, remained unchanged from 2020 to 2021.

Kidney disease rose from tenth to ninth, causing 52,547 deaths in 2020 and 54,236 in 2021. Influenza and pneumonia were the 9th leading cause of death in 2020 (53,544 deaths), falling outside the top 10 causes of death (41,835 deaths) in 2021. Suicide was not among the top ten causes of death in 2020, but was the tenth leading cause of death in 2021, with 47,458 deaths (45,979 in 2020).

COVID-19 has become the third leading cause of death in United States for two consecutive years

The death rate in 2021 is the highest since 2003, with increases from many leading causes of death including COVID-19 and unintentional injuries, the report concluded. While the death rate for those 85 and older fell, the death rate for those under 75 rose sharply from 2020 to 2021.

Of these, deaths from unintentional injuries are mainly caused by drug overdose and may be responsible for the increased mortality in the younger population.

The CDC said the results of the latest report highlight the need for greater efforts to implement effective interventions. We must work to ensure that all communities are treated equally to prevent too many deaths from COVID-19.

COVID-19 has become the third leading cause of death in United States for two consecutive years

(source:internet, reference only)

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