Deaths From Pneumonia-New York City, 1999-2015

"Pneumonia and influenza" are the third leading cause of death in New York City. Since 2012, pneumonia and influenza have been the only infectious diseases listed among the 10 leading causes of death in NYC. Most pneumonia and influenza deaths in NYC list pneumonia as the underlying cause of death, not influenza. We therefore analyzed death certificate data for pneumonia in NYC during 1999-2015.

We calculated annualized pneumonia death rates (overall and by sociodemographic subgroup) and examined the etiologic agent listed.

There were 41 400 pneumonia deaths during the study period, corresponding to an annualized age-adjusted death rate of 29.7 per 100 000 population. Approximately 17.5% of pneumonia deaths specified an etiologic agent. Age-adjusted pneumonia death rate declined over the study period and across each borough. Males had an annualized age-adjusted pneumonia death rate 1.5 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.5-1.5) times that of females. Non-Hispanic blacks had an annualized age-adjusted pneumonia death rate 1.2 (95% CI, 1.2-1.2) times that of non-Hispanic whites. The annualized pneumonia death rate increased with age group above 5-24 years and neighborhood-level poverty. Staten Island had an annualized age-adjusted pneumonia death rate 1.3 (95% CI, 1.2-1.3) times that of Manhattan. In the multivariable analysis, pneumonia deaths were more likely to occur among males, non-Hispanic blacks, persons aged ≥65 years, residents of neighborhoods with higher poverty levels, and in Staten Island.

While the accuracy of death certificates is unknown, investigation is needed to understand why certain populations are disproportionately recorded as dying from pneumonia in NYC.