# Help me understand CDC comorbidity stats **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [August 30, 2020, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-understand-cdc-comorbidity-stats/919388 "2020-08-30T18:52:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2020, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-understand-cdc-comorbidity-stats/919388/1 "2020-08-30T18:52:29Z")
Certain places are reporting the 6% figure > [@CDC](#): > > For 6% of the deaths, COVID-19 was the only cause mentioned. For deaths with conditions or causes in addition to COVID-19, on average, there were 2.6 additional conditions or causes per death This (I believe) being misinterpreted as saying that 94% of COVID deaths had preexisting conditions. I am guessing, that some deaths were die to (say pneumonia) CAUSED by COVID. Can anyone enlighten me? Here is the data (Iam looking at the data ending Aug 22) > **[COVID-19 Provisional Counts - Weekly Updates by Select Demographic and...](https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/covid_weekly/index.htm)** > > Tabulated data on provisional COVID-19 deaths by age, sex, race and Hispanic origin, and comorbidities. Also includes an index of state-level and county-level mortality data available for download. Brian ---
**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2020, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-understand-cdc-comorbidity-stats/919388/2 "2020-08-31T06:39:01Z")
I’m not an expert, but if you look at the [actual dataset](https://data.cdc.gov/NCHS/Conditions-contributing-to-deaths-involving-corona/hk9y-quqm) the description reads: > “This dataset shows health conditions and contributing causes mentioned in conjunction with deaths involving coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).” I think the keyword is _conjunction_. Looking through the dataset, you will see pneumonia, yes. You will also see things like diabetes, sepsis, obesity, and Alzheimer disease. So where the CDC says comorbidities, I think it is safe to say that means “diseases other than COVID-19”. I don’t believe it implies anything about whether the other diseases are complications of COVID-19 or pre-existing. ~Max ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2020, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-understand-cdc-comorbidity-stats/919388/3 "2020-08-31T13:44:52Z")
The meme floating around about this is obviously lies and is easily countered with facts about excess deaths (which show that COVID deaths are understated if anything), but I would love a cite that I could share to crush this poisonous misinformation as quickly as possible. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2020, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-understand-cdc-comorbidity-stats/919388/4 "2020-08-31T19:06:36Z")
> **[The "only 6%" gambit: The latest viral COVID-19 disinformation](https://www.respectfulinsolence.com/2020/08/31/only-six-percent-gambit-latest-viral-covid-19-disinformation/)** > > New COVID-19 disinformation deceptively claims that "only 6%" of the deaths attributed to COVID-19 were due to coronavirus. It's nonsense. “If you peruse the table itself, you’ll soon see that it doesn’t show that “only 6%” of COVID-19 deaths were due primarily to COVID-19 and that, among those with comorbid conditions who died, there were 2.6 additional conditions or causes. The only way one might make such an misinterpretation is either through a profound misunderstanding of how this table was compiled or through willfully lying about the significance of the figures in this table. For one thing, looking at the table you’ll see things like “cardiac arrest,” “septic shock,” “multiorgan failure,” and “respiratory failure.” These can all be sequelae of severe COVID-19 infection that ultimately lead to death; so it would be shocking if they weren’t on the table:” ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2020, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-understand-cdc-comorbidity-stats/919388/5 "2020-08-31T19:10:26Z")
Yes, it is bullshit what’s being pushed out. Here’s the list of underlying medical issues being pushed out to the press: - Influenza and pneumonia - Respiratory failure - Hypertensive disease - Diabetes - Vascular and unspecified dementia - Cardiac Arrest - Heart failure - Renal failure - Intentional and unintentional injury, poisoning and other adverse events - Other medical conditions The first two are suspect since COVID causes these things. The last one is so general as to be meaningless. I mean,yeah, you could have a condition–even a serious one–but that doesn’t mean your condition put you at risk for a COVID death. Technically I have cancer. Ooh, scary. But I will come back from the grave if I die from COVID and someone tries to pin the blame on my very small tumor. ---
**Author:** ![FinsToTheLeft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finstotheleft/32/2930_2.png) [@FinsToTheLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinsToTheLeft)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2020, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-understand-cdc-comorbidity-stats/919388/6 "2020-08-31T19:43:30Z")
I’ve got T2 Diabetes and Hypertension. Both are completely controlled with medication - on last examination I had my A1C and blood pressure in the normal range. These conditions may still leave me a) more susceptible to COVID-19 and b) more likely to get seriously ill and die from COVID-19. My co-morbidities have a 0% chance of causing my death at the moment in the absence of COVID-19 or getting hit by a bus. ---
**Author:** ![gdave](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gdave/32/3683_2.png) [@gdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gdave)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2020, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-understand-cdc-comorbidity-stats/919388/7 "2020-08-31T20:05:31Z")
As ORAC points out in the blog post **Andy\_L** linked to, the 6% figure is effectively counting death certificates which were incorrectly filled out. A death certificate _should_ list the most proximate cause of death (usually cardiac arrest, respiratory failure, or multiple organ failure), then the underlying condition, if known, that _caused_ the most proximate cause of death, then the underlying condition, if known, that caused that. So, if someone had COVID-19 which caused pneumonia which caused respiratory failure, the death certificate _should_ list the cause of death as respiratory failure, with an underlying condition of pneumonia, with an underlying condition of COVID-19. In Section II, other contributing factors, such as T2 Diabetes and Hypertension, would be listed, if present. No death certificate should actually just list “COVID-19” as the most proximate and sole cause of death. 6% of the death certificates apparently were improperly filled out, and didn’t describe _how_ COVID-19 killed the individual, which is kinda important.