Category: Mortality

A Striking Gap Between Deaths of Black and White Babies Plagues the South

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/a-striking-gap-between-deaths-of-black-and-white-babies-plagues-the-south/

Excerpt:

Although the regional hospital in the city of Orangeburg delivers babies, the birth outcomes in the county are awful by any standard. In 2021, nearly 3% of all Black infants in Orangeburg County died before their 1st birthday.

Nationally, the average is about 1% for Black infants and less than 0.5% for white infants.

Meanwhile, Orangeburg County’s infant mortality rate for babies of all races is the highest in South Carolina, according to the latest data published by the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control.

By 2030, the federal government wants infant mortality to fall to 5 or fewer deaths per 1,000 live births. According to annual data compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 16 states have already met or surpassed that goal, including Nevada, New York, and California. But none of those states are in the South, where infant mortality is by far the highest in the country, with Mississippi’s rate of 8.12 deaths per 1,000 live births ranking worst.

Even in those few Southern states where infant mortality rates are inching closer to the national average, the gap between death rates of Black and white babies is vast. In Florida and North Carolina, for example, the Black infant mortality rate is more than twice as high as it is for white babies. A new study published in JAMA found that over two decades Black people in the U.S. experienced more than 1.6 million excess deaths and 80 million years of life lost because of increased mortality risk relative to white Americans. The study also found that infants and older Black Americans bear the brunt of excess deaths and years lost.

….

The state Department of Health and Human Services — which administers Medicaid, the health coverage program for low-income residents, and pays for more than half of all births in South Carolina — claims accidental deaths were the No. 1 reason babies covered by Medicaid died from 2016 to 2020, according to Medicaid spokesperson Jeff Leieritz.

But the state health department, where all infant death data is housed, reported birth defects as the top cause for the past several years. Accidental deaths ranked fifth among all causes in 2021, according to the 2021 health department report. All but one of those accidental infant deaths were attributed to suffocation or strangulation in bed.

Author(s): Lauren Sausser

Publication Date: 22 May 2023

Publication Site: Kaiser Health News

As US Life Expectancy Falls, Experts Cite the Health Impacts of Incarceration

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/prison-health-impact-american-life-expectancy-aging/

Excerpt:

Thousands of people like Jordan are released from prisons and jails every year with conditions such as cancer, heart disease, and infectious diseases they developed while incarcerated. The issue hits hard in Alabama, Louisiana, and other Southeastern states, which have some of the highest incarceration rates in the nation.

A major reason the U.S. trails other developed countries in life expectancy is because it has more people behind bars and keeps them there far longer, said Chris Wildeman, a Duke University sociology professor who has researched the link between criminal justice and life expectancy.

“It’s a health strain on the population,” Wildeman said. “The worse the prison conditions, the more likely it is incarceration can be tied to excess mortality.”

Mass incarceration has a ripple effect across society.

Author(s): Fred Clasen-Kelly

Publication Date: 27 April 2023

Publication Site: KFF Health News

Long-lived rivals: actuaries say Biden and Trump are not too old for office

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.ft.com/content/ad3a97fc-6394-471b-95b6-a46576808f4a?accessToken=zwAF-p9xpktIkdOtOpf8Y5RHG9OVtqRldoCPSg.MEUCIDgGL7wEhhf0DcMprg_1VYV0TDGsyWYpn56E-cBhCGWoAiEA_YjdblG4oKzNoagG66jcPOhEtvtht7Du5gnihbZVDfU&sharetype=gift&token=82960010-bfb1-44e4-a677-de6e47ba5545

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Excerpt:

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Any predictions are by their nature uncertain, yet a longevity modelling firm has forecasted that both candidates are likely to live well beyond the end of the next presidency in 2029. According to Club Vita, actuarial data suggests both men could have more than another decade ahead of them.

The company, which offers analytical services to insurers, said its US model suggested Biden has a life expectancy of another 11 years, taking him to 91. Trump has 14 more years to look forward to, per the model, meaning he would die at 90.

The model’s inputs include affluence, marital status, and employment. These key demographics for both Biden and Trump put them in the same favourable categories for the main factors, including addresses in the top category for life expectancy: the analysts used Trump’s Palm Beach address and Biden’s Delaware home.

Erik Pickett, a New Jersey-based actuary for Club Vita, said a wide range of factors could prove its model wrong, from whether the candidates “are in significantly different health to the average of someone with the same characteristics” to the fact that presidents have “access to higher quality medical treatments” than the typical American.

Author(s): Ian Smith in London and David Crow in New York

Publication Date: 30 April 2023

Publication Site: FT.com

Heat exposure deaths inspire proposed air conditioning requirements in Illinois

Mary Pat Campbell

Link:https://www.thecentersquare.com/illinois/article_6616e81a-e074-11ed-8a30-8b0b8fc31490.html

Excerpt:

 Two bills in the Illinois legislature this session will require air conditioning, or at least a common room with air conditioning, in buildings housing seniors.

Last May, when a heat wave sent temperatures in Illinois soaring into the high 90s, three older women living in state-subsidized housing died of heat exposure in the Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago. The three seniors, Delores McNeely, 76, Gwendolyn Osborne, 72, and Janice Reed, 68, were constituents of state Sen. Mike Simmons, D-Chicago. Two separate bills now aim to prevent these types of deaths,

Simmons sponsored a proposal that would require all state-funded affordable housing to have air conditioning. The bill passed the state Senate in March.

….

In March, the National Low Income Housing Coalition and Housing Action Illinois found that Illinois is lacking 300,000 affordable housing units for the 443,746 poorest households in the state. For every 100 extremely low-income renters, there are only 34 affordable and available units, the report found.

The report defines “very low income” in the Chicago area as households that earn less than $31,250 a year for a family of four, and $22,000 a year for a single person. Many seniors on Social Security live on half of that, Palmer said.

Author(s): Zeta Cross

Publication Date: 22 Apr 2023

Publication Site: The Center Square

The economic impact of the opioid epidemic

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.brookings.edu/blog/usc-brookings-schaeffer-on-health-policy/2023/04/17/the-economic-impact-of-the-opioid-epidemic/

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Excerpt:

While the opioid epidemic has had significant impacts across the labor market, its effects have been particularly pronounced in specific occupations and industries. A CDC analysis of mortality data from 21 states concluded that unintentional and undetermined overdose deaths accounted for a disproportionate share of all deaths in the following six occupational groups: construction, extraction (e.g., mining), food preparation and serving, health care practitioners, health care support, and personal care and service. These fatalities are particularly concentrated in construction and extraction: an analysis by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health found that individuals employed in construction and extraction accounted for over 24% of all overdose deaths in the state’s working population.

Notably, the jobs with the highest rates of opioid overdose fatalities generally have high occupational injury rates and low access to paid sick leave. Figure 1 demonstrates that the industries with the highest rates of overdose fatalities in the workplace have elevated occupational injury rates for fractures and musculoskeletal disorders, both of which are significant risk factors for long-term opioid use.

Author(s): Julia Paris, Caitlin Rowley, and Richard G. Frank

Publication Date: 17 April 2023

Publication Site: Brookings

In Communities Where Civic Health Is Poor, Lives Are Shorter

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.governing.com/now/in-communities-where-civic-health-is-poor-lives-are-shorter

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Excerpt:

Neglected civic infrastructure — schools, parks, community centers, libraries and other public spaces that help foster a sense of belonging — coupled with barriers to participation in civic life aren’t just manifestations of poor governance. According to the 2023 County Health Rankings & Roadmaps (CHR&R) from the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute (UWPHI), they have health consequences.

The rankings, published since 2010, were developed to provide insight and guidance for improving health equity. The new report focuses on relationships between the state of civic infrastructure, community engagement and well-being.

“There is a connection between our civic health and thriving people and places,” says Sheri Johnson, the director of UWHPI.

The pandemic made the chronic stress faced by those without access to broadband connections, safe public spaces or other civic resources more visible than ever. Public health researcher Arline Geronimus has been at the forefront of research demonstrating that the stresses of poverty and discrimination actually cause cellular-level damage, overloading the hormonal systems that help us survive dangerous situations.

Author(s): Carl Smith

Publication Date: 4 April 2023

Publication Site: Governing

GUN VIOLENCE ARCHIVE

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.gunviolencearchive.org/

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Excerpt:

PUBLISHED DATE: April 20, 2023

Gun violence  and crime incidents are collected/validated from 7,500 sources daily – Incident Reports and their source data are found at the gunviolencearchive.org website.

Footnotes

  1. Number of source verified deaths and injuries
  2. Number of INCIDENTS reported and verified
  3. Calculation based on CDC Suicide Data
  4. Actual total of all non-suicide deaths plus daily calculated suicide deaths

All numbers are subject to change or incidents recategorized as new evidence is established and verified.

METHODOLOGY & DEFINITIONS AVAILABLE AT:
https://www.gunviolencearchive.org/methodology

www.gunviolencearchive.org
www.facebook.com/gunviolencearchive
On Twitter @gundeaths

Publication Date: accessed 20 April 2023

Publication Site: Gun Violence Archive

Pension reform in France: Which countries have the lowest and highest retirement ages in Europe?

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.euronews.com/next/2023/04/06/pension-reform-in-france-which-countries-have-the-lowest-and-highest-retirement-ages-in-eu

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Excerpt:

The gap between women and men in expected years of retirement varies from 2.0 years in Ireland to 7.5 years in Cyprus. 

By 2020, European women typically can expect to live 4.3 years more than men after they exit the labour market. 

While the EU average is 4.6 years, in France, the gender gap stands in favour of women by a total of 3.6 years.

Interestingly, life expectancy in retirement for both highly varies across Europe. For men, it ranges from 14 years in Latvia to 24 years in Luxembourg.

For women, it varies from 18.9 years in Latvia to 28.4 years in Greece. Women are expected to have 26 years or more to spend while retired in Belgium, France, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg and Spain.

Author(s): Servet Yanatma

Publication Date: 6 Apr 2023

Publication Site: euronews

Obesity in Asia

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.genre.com/knowledge/publications/2023/april/ri23-1-en

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Excerpt:

Figure 2 shows the incidence of cardiovascular disease and stroke in the male population.

This was derived from Gen Re’s Dread Disease experience study covering the period 2012–2015 and 2015–2019 for Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia. As per the analysis from the leading insurance companies of the respective market, 43% of men in Singapore, 40% of men in Malaysia and 26% of men in Hong Kong had critical illness claims due to cardiovascular disease and stroke between 2015 and 2019. When compared with the 2012–2015 analysis, it was noted that there is an increase in claims by 3% in Singapore, 10% in Malaysia and 1% points in Hong Kong, which may be associated with overweight and obesity or simply an older portfolio.

Due to increases in body weight and medical complications, insurance companies may be confronted with increasing claims which will impact their profitability. To mitigate this cost, insurance companies may have to increase the premium so as to commensurate with this rising claim cost. This increase in price will impact on the healthy population.

Health insurance premium has doubled in the past 10 years, but it is unclear how much of this premium is sufficient to cover the financial burden of the obesity pandemic. The evaluation of existing and developing new health coverages related to obesity-related conditions is an important consideration for the profitability of the health insurance providers.14

Author(s): Bharath UP

Publication Date: 12 April 2023

Publication Site: Gen Re

NYC subway-track deaths soar, driven by social-media dares

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://nypost.com/2023/04/02/nyc-subway-track-deaths-soar-driven-by-social-media-dares/

Excerpt:

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority had distressing news last week: Deaths on subway-train tracks soared in 2022, to 88.

It’s a little-remarked element of our post-2020 era of disorder and chaos.

….

But as with everything else in New York in the past three years, things went awry. Last year’s 88 track deaths were 35% above the 2018 and 2019 averages — 65 each year.

For context, 120 pedestrians died above ground last year in crashes with cars or trucks, close to the average of 121 in 2018 and 2019.

….

What’s going on? Of 1,365 known subway-track incidents in 2022 (most of which didn’t end in death), about 15% were accidental falls or medical emergencies, a new MTA analysis finds.

A thankfully surprisingly low number — fewer than 10% — was suicides or suicide attempts.

An even smaller percentage was assaults — that is, people being pushed to the tracks. (Though with pushes to the tracks comprising three of last year’s 10 subway murders, a 30-year high, a small percentage is too many.)

In most cases — well more than two-thirds — people ended up on the tracks voluntarily.

In 20% of total cases, people were clearly mentally ill (but not attempting suicide); in another 10% or so, people were drugged or drunk.

….

The worst spike in track intrusions started a little more than a year ago, in December 2021 to February 2022. (This includes January 2022, when Michelle Go was pushed to her death in Times Square by a mentally ill, violent ex-con.)

This winter, track intrusions are down 30%.

Why? Largely police enforcement.

Author(s): Nicole Gelinas

Publication Date: 2 April 2023

Publication Site: NY Post

Guidance for Certifying Deaths Due to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvss/vsrg/vsrg03-508.pdf

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Excerpt:

Certifying deaths due to post-acute sequelae of
COVID-19
In the acute phase, clinical manifestations and complications
of COVID-19 of varying degrees have been documented,
including death. However, patients who recover from the acute
phase of the infection can still suffer long-term effects (8).
Post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC), commonly referred
to as “long COVID,” refers to the long-term symptoms, signs,
and complications experienced by some patients who have
recovered from the acute phase of COVID-19 (8–10). Emerging
evidence suggests that severe acute respiratory syndrome
coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes COVID-19,
can have lasting effects on nearly every organ and organ system
of the body weeks, months, and potentially years after infection
(11,12). Documented serious post-COVID-19 conditions include
cardiovascular, pulmonary, neurological, renal, endocrine,
hematological, and gastrointestinal complications (8), as well as
death (13).

Consequently, when completing the death certificate, certifiers
should carefully review and consider the decedent’s medical
history and records, laboratory test results, and autopsy report,
if one is available. For decedents who had a previous SARSCoV-2 infection and were diagnosed with a post-COVID-19
condition, the certifier may consider the possibility that the death
was due to long-term complications of COVID-19, even if the
original infection occurred months or years before death. If it is
determined that PASC was the UCOD, it should be reported on
the lowest line used in Part I with the condition(s) it led to on the
line(s) above in a logical sequence in terms of time and etiology.
If it is determined that PASC was not the UCOD but was still a
significant condition that contributed to death, then it should be
reported in Part II. Certifiers should use standard terminology,
that is, “Post-acute sequelae of COVID-19.” See Scenario IV in
the Appendix for an example certification. In accordance with
all death certification guidance, if the certifier determines that
PASC did not cause or contribute to death, then they should not
report it anywhere on the death certificate.

Author(s): National Vital Statistics System, National Center for Health Statistics

Publication Date: updated 27 Feb 2023

Publication Site: CDC