Thursday, March 30, 2023

Male vs. Female Heart Disease Death Rates in the Southwestern U.S.

Heart disease accounted for almost 697,000 deaths in the U.S. in 2020. making it the nation's leading cause of death.  In the four-state Southwestern U.S., there were more than 80,400 heart disease deaths that year.   Consistent with a pattern seen nationally, the heart disease death rate for women in the region was lower than it was for men.  That said, in 2020 the heart disease death rate in the Southwestern U.S. for each gender was below the national average for the respective gender.  That result was consistent with the fact that in 2020 the Southwestern U.S. had the nation's third-lowest regional heart disease death rate. A closer examination of federal government statistical data reveals the following about male vs. female heart disease death rates in the Southwestern U.S.:

Male vs. Female Heart Disease Death Rates in the Southwestern U.S.

Male vs. Female Heart Disease Death Rates in the Southwestern U.S.

Deaths Population Death Rate*
Regionwide 80,454 42,869,262 187.7
     Male 45,507 21,280,617 213.8
     Female 34,947 21,588,645 161.9
Nationwide     696,962 329,484,123 211.5
     Male 382,776 162,256,202 235.9
     Female 314,186 167,227,921 187.9

(*) number of heart disease deaths per 100,000 population

Report Period: 2020

States in Region:  Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas

Source: CDC Wonder. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. Underlying Cause of Death 1999-2020 on CDC WONDER Online Database, released in 2021. Data are from the Multiple Cause of Death Files, 1999-2020, as compiled from data provided by the 57 vital statistics jurisdictions through the Vital Statistics Cooperative Program. Accessed on March 25, 2023

Wednesday, March 29, 2023

Urban vs. Rural Drug-Induced Death Rates in the Rocky Mountain Region

In the five-state Rocky Mountain region of the U.S., drug-induced causes, mostly overdoses, accounted for 2,765 deaths in 2020.  Relative to population size, at 22.0 deaths per 100,000 population, the drug-induced death rate in the region was almost 25% below the national average.  Statistically, this gave the Rocky Mountain region the third-lowest regional drug-induced death rate in the U.S. in 2020.  In a pattern seen elsewhere in the U.S., the drug-induced death rate in the region's largest urban population centers ran noticeably higher than in its smaller metro and rural populations.  This is in contrast to the all-cause death rate, which typically runs lower in larger metro areas than in smaller metro and rural populations.  A deeper dive into data from the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) reveals the following details about urban vs. rural drug-induced death rates in the Rocky Mountain region:

Urban vs. Rural Drug-Induced Death Rates in the Rocky Mountain Region

Urban vs. Rural Drug-Induced Death Rates in the Rocky Mountain Region



County Classification Deaths Population Death Rate*
Large Central Metro 586 1,901,055 30.8
Large Fringe Metro 532 2,330,205 22.8
Medium Metro 818 3,900,314 21.0
Small Metro 356 1,669,221 21.3
Micropolitan (Nonmetro) 262 1,616,653 16.2
NonCore (Nonmetro) 211 1,129,968 18.7
     Region 2,765 12,547,416 22.0
Nationally 96,096 329,484,123 29.2

(*) number of drug-induced deaths per 100,000 population

Report Period: 2020

States in region:  Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Utah, and Wyoming

See the 2013 NCHS Urban-Rural Classification Scheme for additional information on population categories, including a map of which U.S. counties fall in which categories.

Source: CDC Wonder. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. Underlying Cause of Death 1999-2020 on CDC WONDER Online Database, released in 2021. Data are from the Multiple Cause of Death Files, 1999-2020, as compiled from data provided by the 57 vital statistics jurisdictions through the Vital Statistics Cooperative Program. Accessed on March 25, 2023

Tuesday, March 28, 2023

Medicare Rehabilitation Hospital Beds by Region

Serving the inpatient rehabilitation care needs of over 62 million Americans having Medicare Part A insurance coverage, rehabilitation hospitals are an important part of Medicare's institutional provider network.  As of 2020, there were over 310 rehabilitation hospitals, with over 19,400 beds, that were participating in the Medicare program.  Here is a breakdown of Medicare rehabilitation hospital beds by region (to see state-level data, follow the "region" links in the table below):

Region # Part A Enrollees # Hospitals # Beds
Far West 9,495,673 17 1,215
Great Lakes 9,196,909 31 2,113
Great Plains 4,142,384 20 1,187
Mid-East 9,405,082 32 2,752
New England 3,068,210 11 1,106
Rocky Mountain 2,039,128 11 566
Southeast 17,048,200 105 5,838
Southwest 6,815,787 84 4,601
U.S. Territories 1,287,380 3 103
National 62,498,751 314 19,481

Source:  CMS Program Statistics, Table: MDCR PROVIDERS 4. Medicare Providers:  Number of Medicare Certified Hospitals and Skilled Nursing Facilities, and Number of Beds, by State, Territories, Possessions, and Other, the Calendar Year 2020