WASHINGTON — Rural Americans are more likely to die from heart disease, cancer, and the three other leading causes of death than their urban counterparts, according to a new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Those five top causes of death — heart disease, cancer, unintentional injury, chronic lower respiratory disease, and stroke — accounted for 62 percent of the total 1.6 million deaths in the United States in 2014. Among rural Americans, more than 70,000 of the deaths were potentially preventable, the study found, including 25,000 from heart disease and 19,000 from cancer.
About 15 percent of the US population currently lives in rural areas. These 46 million people tend to be older, poorer, and sicker than urban Americans, with higher rates of cigarette smoking, high blood pressure, and obesity and lower rates of physical activity. They also don’t use seat belts as much. They typically have less access to health care and are less likely to have health insurance.
Previous CDC research has identified that a substantial proportion of deaths in each of the five categories could have been avoided. But the data from the latest report showing more premature deaths in rural areas represent a new finding.
Increasing death rates from heart disease and stroke, diabetes, drug overdoses, accidents, and other conditions caused the nation’s life expectancy to decline in 2015 for the first time in more than two decades.
Increasing death rates from heart disease and stroke, diabetes, drug overdoses, accidents, and other conditions caused the nation’s life expectancy to decline in 2015 for the first time in more than two decades, according to a report released last month by the National Center for Health Statistics.
Cigarette smoking remains the leading cause of preventable disease and death in the United States. Although smoking rates have declined overall in the past several years, tobacco use raises the risk for developing and dying from heart disease, stroke, and chronic lower respiratory disease. Smoking prevalence among adults is higher in rural areas and differs markedly by region.
Unintentional injuries, which include overdoses from drugs, alcohol, and other chemicals, as well as from motor vehicle crashes and other accidents, were about 50 percent higher in rural areas. That was in part because of greater risk of death from crashes and opioid overdoses.
Washington Post