Missouri’s COVID-19 death rate is more than double Kansas’ and doctors aren’t sure why
Though there is no definitive answer on why Missouri’s COVID-19 death rate is currently more than twice that of Kansas’, doctors at the University of Kansas Health System said “urbanity” could be a relevant factor.
As of this week, Missouri’s death rate is about 5.4% with 909 deaths out of 16,625 cases.
Kansas’ rate sits at 2.1%, with 247 deaths out of 11,681 cases.
The reason behind the different rates was “not completely clear,” said Dave Lisbon, an emergency department physician at the health system, but “concentrated clusters in St. Louis may be driving some of that.”
With 7,479 cases, St. Louis City and St. Louis County account for nearly half of the state’s cases and make up the majority of the state’s deaths.
Population density may contribute to the risk of transmission and other associated aspects of the pandemic like social distancing.
“I suspect Missouri probably has a little bit more urbanity,” Lisbon said.
But it’s not only St. Louis. Kansas City’s population may also be a factor, said Dana Hawkinson, medical director of infection prevention and control at the health system.
Kansas City has 1,802 cases, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.
“I certainly think that you have Kansas City, Missouri, plus you have St. Louis, Missouri, so those are two fairly big urban centers compared to say Kansas City, Kansas, in the metro area here on the Kansas side, so I think that probably plays a role in it,” Hawkinson said.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, St. Louis County has a population of about 994,000 people and St. Louis City has about 300,500. Kansas City, Missouri, has a population of about 495,000 people.
Kansas’ largest city is Wichita with about 390,000 people. Kansas City, Kansas, has a population of about 143,000 people.
While cases have been concentrated in urban centers, for the most part, clusters have popped up around the country at meatpacking plants in more rural areas.
Large outbreaks in western Kansas meatpacking plants haven’t resulted in a lot of hospitalizations or deaths, Hawkinson said.
Age and underlying health conditions also influence the death rate. Lisbon said the age makeup in Kansas and Missouri were similar.
However people in Missouri are less healthy, according to an analysis by the United Health Foundation. In a nationwide ranking, Kansas sat at 29 whereas Missouri came in at 39, scoring worse on public health funding, frequent physical distress, smoking and air pollution, among other measures.
The experts at the University of Kansas Health System cautioned that the rate of deaths will continue to fluctuate.
“These numbers are going to continue to change until we’re able to look back retrospectively at everything,” Hawkinson said.
This story was originally published June 17, 2020 at 1:02 PM.
