COVID drops to 10th leading cause of death in US

COVID-19
covid 19 deaths

towfiqu ahamed / iStock

Provisional data from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) on the top causes of deaths in the United States in 2023 shows COVID-19 dropped to the tenth leading cause of death. In 2022, it was the fourth leading cause of death, meaning deaths from COVID dropped by 68.9% in 1 year.

There were 76,446 deaths from COVID-19 in 2023, and 245,614 in 2022. In 2023, the leading causes of death in the United States were heart disease (680,909 deaths), cancer (613,331), and unintentional injury (222,518).

A provisional total of 3,090,582 deaths occurred in the United States last year, with the age-adjusted death rate per 100,000 population standing at 884.2 among males, and 632.8 among females. The overall death rate, 750.4 per 100,000, was 6.1% lower than in 2022 (798.8).

The overall death rate was highest among non-Hispanic Black or African American persons  (924.3), and lowest among non-Hispanic multiracial persons (352.1).

Deaths highest among those 85 and older

The number of deaths was highest during the week ending January 7 (68,965) and during the week ending December 30 (65,257). 

Similar to previous years, the lowest death rates were among people aged 5 to 14 years (14.7) and highest among persons aged 85 years and older (14,285.8).

For COVID, the death rate decreased from 2022 to 2023 for all age groups, but the age-adjusted COVID-19–associated death rate per 100,000 among males (22.1) was higher than that among females (15.4). COVID-19–associated death rates decreased from 2022 to 2023 for all racial and ethnic groups, the authors said. 

Provisional death estimates can give researchers and policymakers an early signal about shifts in mortality trends and provide actionable information sooner than do the final mortality data.

"Provisional death estimates can give researchers and policymakers an early signal about shifts in mortality trends and provide actionable information sooner than do the final mortality data. These data can guide public health policies and interventions that are intended to reduce mortality," the report concluded.  

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