Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Mortality

Suicide Trends Among and Within Urbanization Levels by Sex, Race/Ethnicity, Age Group, and Mechanism of Death — United States, 2001–2015
Reports on county-level trends in suicide rates during 2001–2015 for large metropolitan, medium/small metropolitan, and nonmetro counties. Includes data by sex and age group. Covers the mechanism of death, with data on firearms, hanging/suffocation, drug poisoning, non-drug poisoning, and other causes.
Author(s): Asha Z. Ivey-Stephenson, Alex E. Crosby, Shane P. D. Jack, Tadesse Haileyesus, Marcie-jo Kresnow-Sedacca
Citation: MMWR Surveillance Summaries, 66(18), 1-16
Date: 10/2017
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Despair as a Cause of Death: More Complex Than It First Appears
Describes studies showing urban-rural and racial/ethnic comparisons of premature deaths due to self-destructive behaviors and possible underlying social and economic factors in the communities.
Author(s): Ana V. Diez Roux
Citation: American Journal of Public Health, 107(10), 1566-1567
Date: 10/2017
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The Epidemic of Despair Among White Americans: Trends in the Leading Causes of Premature Death, 1999–2015
Evaluates trends in cause-specific death rates for adults ages 25-64, from 1999-2001 and 2013-2015. Features statistics including cause of death, age, race, and urbanization level in the United States, with breakdowns by large urban, suburban, small/medium metropolitan, and rural areas.
Author(s): Elizabeth M. Stein, Keith P. Gennuso, Donna C. Ugboaja, Patrick L. Remington
Citation: American Journal of Public Health, 107(10), 1541-1547
Date: 10/2017
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Rural and Urban Differences in Passenger-Vehicle–Occupant Deaths and Seat Belt Use Among Adults — United States, 2014
Examines motor-vehicle crash deaths and seat belt use by level of rurality. Includes regional rural-urban data on death rates and type of state seat belt enforcement law (primary or secondary). Also provides data on unrestrained passenger-vehicle occupants in fatal crashes by level of rurality. For self-reported seat belt use, includes demographic data for metropolitan and nonmetro counties.
Author(s): Laurie F. Beck, Jonathan Downs, Mark R. Stevens, Erin K. Sauber-Schatz
Citation: MMWR Surveillance Summaries, 66(17), 1-13
Date: 09/2017
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Infant Mortality Rates in Rural and Urban Areas in the United States, 2014
Reports on infant mortality in 2014 among rural, small and medium urban, and large urban counties. Includes data by infant age at death for neonatal (0-27 days) and postneonatal (28-364 days) deaths. Provides infant mortality data by mother's age and by mother's race for non-Hispanic White, non-Hispanic Black, and Hispanic mothers.
Author(s): Danielle M. Ely, Anne K. Driscoll, T.J. Mathews
Date: 09/2017
Sponsoring organization: National Center for Health Statistics
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Pollution and Regional Variations of Lung Cancer Mortality in the United States
Identifies counties in the U.S. with higher rates of lung cancer mortality and related community-level factors, including rurality, socioeconomic status, level of particulate matter pollution, and access to healthcare. Includes a map showing lung cancer mortality clusters and a "lung cancer mortality belt" from eastern Oklahoma through central Appalachia.
Author(s): Justin Xavier Moore, Tomi Akinyemiju, Henry E. Wang
Citation: Cancer Epidemiology, 49, 118-127
Date: 08/2017
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Health Disparities in Appalachia
Measures population health in Appalachia and explores disparities within the region and between Appalachia and the country as a whole. Features statistics on mortality, morbidity, behavioral health, child health, community characteristics, lifestyle, healthcare systems, quality of care, and social determinants, with breakdowns between urban and rural areas.
Author(s): Julie L. Marshall, Logan Thomas, Nancy M. Lane, et al.
Date: 08/2017
Sponsoring organizations: Appalachian Regional Commission, PDA, Inc., The Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research
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Regional Differences in Rural and Urban Mortality Trends
Findings brief exploring mortality trends from 1999-2015. Includes statistics for all-cause U.S. mortality rate with breakdowns by rural and urban locations and all-cause mortality for rural counties with breakdowns by 9 census divisions.
Author(s): Abby Hoffman, Mark Holmes
Date: 08/2017
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program
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Bringing Change for Rural COPD Patients: Possibilities with the COPD National Action Plan
Highlights the mounting costs of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), the substantial impact the disease has on rural communities, and the growing divide between COPD-related rural and urban mortality rates. The recently released COPD National Action Plan (CNAP) is set to bring COPD into the spotlight as a national health concern, and rural America will likely play a major role.
Author(s): Kay Miller Temple
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 08/2017
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Making the Case for Investment in Rural Cancer Control: An Analysis of Rural Cancer Incidence, Mortality, and Funding Trends
Highlights rural-urban disparities in cancer prevalence and mortality from 2009-2013, and analyzes the five-year (2011-2016) funding trends for rural-focused, National Cancer Institute (NCI) supported cancer control grants.
Author(s): Kelly D. Blake, Jennifer L. Moss, Anna Gaysynsky, Shobha Srinivasan, Robert T. Croyle
Citation: Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, 26(7), 992-997
Date: 07/2017
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