October 26, 2020

Mortality among Adults Ages 25-44 in the United States During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Category: Article Summary

Topic: Public Health Policy and Practice

Keywords (Tags): public health

[Pre-print, not peer-reviewed] In some areas of the US, COVID-19 has likely become the leading cause of death among young adults aged 25-44 during periods of substantial COVID-19 outbreaks, surpassing unintentional overdoses. An observational cohort study of all-cause mortality among adults age 25-44 during the COVID-19 pandemic in the US found that 14,155 more deaths occurred in this age group from March 1 to July 31 than during the same period of 2019, representing a 23% relative increase (incident rate ratio 1.23). In states including New York, New Jersey, Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Arizona, California, Hawaii, and Nevada, COVID-19 deaths exceeded 2018 unintentional opioid overdose deaths during at least one month. A combined 2,450 COVID-19 deaths were recorded in these three regions during the pandemic period, compared to 2,445 opioid deaths during the same period of 2018.

Faust et al. (Oct 25, 2020). Mortality among Adults Ages 25-44 in the United States During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Pre-print downloaded Oct 26 from https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.10.21.20217174