title: Reducing Potentially Excess Deaths from the Five Leading Causes of Death in the Rural United States
abstract: In 2014, the all-cause age-adjusted death rate in the United States reached a historic low of 724.6 per 100,000 population (1). However, mortality in rural (nonmetropolitan) areas of the United States has decreased at a much slower pace, resulting in a widening gap between rural mortality rates (830.5) and urban mortality rates (704.3) (1). During 1999–2014, annual age-adjusted death rates for the five leading causes of death in the United States (heart disease, cancer, unintentional injury, chronic lower respiratory disease (CLRD), and stroke) were higher in rural areas than in urban (metropolitan) areas (Figure 1). In most public health regions (Figure 2), the proportion of deaths among persons aged <80 years (U.S. average life expectancy) (2) from the five leading causes that were potentially excess deaths was higher in rural areas compared with urban areas (Figure 3). Several factors probably influence the rural-urban gap in potentially excess deaths from the five leading causes, many of which are associated with sociodemographic differences between rural and urban areas. Residents of rural areas in the United States tend to be older, poorer, and sicker than their urban counterparts (3). A higher proportion of the rural U.S. population reports limited physical activity because of chronic conditions than urban populations (4). Moreover, social circumstances and behaviors have an impact on mortality and potentially contribute to approximately half of the determining causes of potentially excess deaths (5).
authors.affiliation: Center for Surveillance, Epidemiology, and Laboratory Services, CDC.
authors.forename: Macarena C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Garcia
authors.affiliation: National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, CDC.
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Faul
authors.affiliation: National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, CDC.
authors.forename: Greta
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Massetti
authors.affiliation: National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, CDC.
authors.forename: Cheryll C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Thomas
authors.affiliation: National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, CDC.
authors.forename: Yuling
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.affiliation: National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, CDC.
authors.forename: Ursula E
authors.initials: UE
authors.lastname: Bauer
authors.affiliation: Center for Surveillance, Epidemiology, and Laboratory Services, CDC.
authors.forename: Michael F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Iademarco
mesh_terms: D000056:Accident Prevention; D000368:Aged; D002423:Cause of Death; D002908:Chronic Disease; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000401:mortality* / Q000517:prevention & control; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality* / Q000517:prevention & control; D012140:Respiratory Tract Diseases / Q000401:mortality* / Q000517:prevention & control; D012424:Rural Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D020521:Stroke / Q000401:mortality* / Q000517:prevention & control; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000401:mortality* / Q000517:prevention & control