Potentially preventable deaths from the five leading causes of death--United States, 2008-2010.
Level 4 - case-series / case-control
Population-level descriptive surveillance and ecological benchmark modeling using vital statistics data.
What was done
CDC analyzed National Vital Statistics System mortality data from 2008–2010 across the 50 US states and the District of Columbia to estimate annual potentially preventable premature deaths (before age 80 years) for the five leading causes of death: heart disease, cancer, chronic lower respiratory diseases, cerebrovascular diseases (stroke), and unintentional injuries. Potentially preventable deaths were calculated by comparing observed deaths per state against expected deaths derived from the average rates of the three states with the lowest mortality for each cause.
What was found
When analyzed separately, the estimated annual potentially preventable premature deaths were: - Diseases of the heart: 91,757 - Cancer: 84,443 - Unintentional injuries: 36,836 - Chronic lower respiratory diseases: 28,831 - Cerebrovascular diseases (stroke): 16,973 States located in the Southeast had the highest number of potentially preventable deaths across all five leading causes.
Why it matters
These state-level estimates provide quantifiable public health benchmarks demonstrating that a substantial portion of premature US mortality could theoretically be averted if state-level prevention performance matched top-performing states.
Limits
The abstract describes a theoretical benchmark based on the top three performing states, which may not account for unmeasured baseline differences in state demographics, genetics, socioeconomic status, or environmental factors. Total participant numbers and confidence intervals are not reported in the abstract. Causes of death were calculated separately, without accounting for competing mortality risks.
Cited by
- context Respiratory disease is the fifth leading cause of death in the United States.