Carbon monoxide poisoning deaths in the United States, 1999 to 2012

Unintentional, non-fire related (UNFR) carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning deaths are preventable. Surveillance of the populations most at-risk for unintentional, non-fire related (UNFR) carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning is crucial for targeting prevention efforts.

This study provides estimates on UNFR CO poisoning mortality in the United States and characterizes the at-risk populations.

We used 1999 to 2012 data to calculate death rates. We used underlying and multiple conditions variables from death records to identify UNFR CO poisoning cases.

For this study, we identified 6136 CO poisoning fatalities during 1999 to 2012 resulting in an average of 438 deaths annually. The annual average age-adjusted death rate was 1.48 deaths per million. Fifty four percent of the deaths occurred in a home. Age-adjusted death rates were highest for males (2.21 deaths per million) and non-Hispanic blacks (1.74 deaths per million). The age-specific death rate was highest for those aged ≥85 years (6.00 deaths per million). The annual rate of UNFR CO poisoning deaths did not change substantially during the study period, but we observed a decrease in the rate of suicide and unintentional fire related cases.

CO poisoning was the second most common non-medicinal poisonings death. Developing and enhancing current public health interventions could reduce ongoing exposures to CO from common sources, such as those in the residential setting.