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

BACKGROUND: 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.

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

METHODS: 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.

RESULTS: 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.

CONCLUSION: 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.