Cause of Death by Race and Ethnicity in Minnesota Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic, 2019–2020

Objectives: To measure changes in cause of death dynamics in 2019 and 2020 and the relationship between the concurrent occurrence of the COVID-19 pandemic and mortality outcome by race and ethnicity. Patients and Methods: We used resident mortality data from the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) to conduct a retrospective statistical analysis of deaths in Minnesota in 2019 relative to 2020 to assess changes in mortality in a pre-pandemic and pandemic period. Results: COVID-19 strongly contributed to ethnicity-related mortality disparities in Minnesota. Not only was there a greater proportion of COVID-19 decedents within Black and Hispanic populations, but their average decedent age was markedly lower relative to the White population. The Black population experienced a disproportionate increase in decedents with a 34% increase during 2020 compared to 2019. Conclusions: This retrospective analysis of death dynamics and mortality outcomes in Minnesota from 2019 to 2020 demonstrated an increase in adverse mortality outcomes relative to the pre-pandemic period that disproportionately impacted Black and Hispanic minority populations.