Artist’s rendition of Coronavirus
In July, the CDC published data on the characteristics of 50,000 U.S. residents who died of COVID-19 between mid-Feb and mid-May, 2020.
Some points:
- 55% were male
- 80% were aged ≥65 years
- 14% were Hispanic/Latino (Hispanic)
- 21% were black
- 40% were white
- 4% were Asian
- 0.3% were American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN),
- 3% were multiracial or other race
- race/ethnicity was unknown for 18.0%
- median decedent age was 78 years (median means half who died were over 78, half were under 78)
CDC didn’t have much clinical data on all 50,000 decedents. But they were able to collect supplementary data on close to 11,000 of them;
- 61% were male
- 75% were aged ≥65 years
- 24% were Hispanic
- 25% were black
- 35% were white
- 6% were Asian
- 3% were multiracial or other race
- race/ethnicity was unknown for 6%
- decedent age varied by race and ethnicity; median age was 71 years among Hispanic decedents, 72 years among all nonwhite, non-Hispanic decedents, and 81 years among white decedents. The percentages of Hispanic (35%) and nonwhite (30%) decedents who were aged <65 years were more than twice those of white decedents (13%)
What about underlying conditions among these 11,000 decedents for whom supplementary data was available?
At least one underlying medical condition was reported for 8,134 (76%) of decedents for whom supplementary data were collected, including 83% of decedents aged <65 years. Overall, the most common underlying medical conditions were:
- cardiovascular disease (61%)
- diabetes mellitus (40%)
- chronic kidney disease (21%)
- chronic lung disease (19%)
- among decedents aged <65 years, 83% had one or more underlying medical conditions
- among decedents aged ≥85 years, 70% had one or more underlying medical conditions
- diabetes was more common among decedents aged <65 years (50%) than among those aged ≥85 years (26%).
From the CDC report
Regional and state level efforts to examine the roles of these factors in SARS-CoV-2 transmission and COVID-19-associated deaths could lead to targeted, community-level, mortality prevention initiatives. Examples include health communication campaigns targeted towards Hispanics and nonwhite persons aged <65 years. These campaigns could encourage social distancing and the need for wearing cloth face coverings in public settings. In addition, health care providers should be encouraged to consider the possibility of disease progression, particularly in Hispanic and nonwhite persons aged <65 years and persons of any race/ethnicity, regardless of age, with underlying medical conditions, especially diabetes.
Steve Parker, M.D.
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