Dementia Mortality Rates: A Sustained and Disparate Increase for Caucasians and African Americans, 1999 – 2016.

Schears, M., Bustard, L.

Background: Racial disparities in dementia incidence, prevalence, and mortality have steadily increased over time.

Objective: Compare and contrast Caucasian and African American dementia mortality rates by time and age group in the United States.

Methods: Dementia mortality rates from 1999-2016 were compared by race and age using data from the CDC compressed mortality database.

Results: Dementia mortality rates in the United States increased for African Americans and Caucasians over the age of 65 years-old by 294% between 1999 and 2016. African Americans (50.8 deaths per 100,000) have higher reported mortality rates than Caucasians (44.2 deaths per 100,000) for individuals 65 to 74 years-old, while Caucasians have a higher overall mortality rate (428.8 per 100,000) than African Americans.

Conclusion: More refined diagnostic tools and surveillance practices should be developed to correctly diagnose dementia, administer care, and report dementia-related deaths.

July 20, 2020. 

File: Dementia-Mortality-Rates.pdf

Leukemia Mortality in the United States and Wisconsin from 1999-2016

Benson, M., Johnson, M., Yang, A.

Background: Leukemia is the tenth most common cancer in the United States, and there were 22,840 leukemia-related deaths in 2019.

Methods: We examined differences and trends in leukemia mortality by age, gender, race, and ethnicity in Wisconsin from 1999-2016 using CDC WONDER.

Results: Overall mortality is slowly decreasing. Higher mortality rates were seen in men compared to women. Mortality increased with age. Whites had a higher mortality rate among racial groups. Mortality was higher in non-Hispanic or Latinx compared to those who identify as Hispanic or Latinx.

Discussion: The differences we found in mortality align with previous literature. Further study on leukemia might focus on survival or upstream factors rather than mortality due to leukemia having few modifiable risk factors.

July, 20, 2020

File: Leukemia-Mortality.pdf

Opioid Overdose Mortality Trends in Wisconsin, 1999-2018

Nacev, E., Jenkins, M. C., Lee, C. W.

Background: Opioid-related mortality in Wisconsin by race differs from national trends: in 2017, Black Wisconsinites were 87% more likely than whites to die by opioid overdose. Little attention has been paid to this disparity and the increase in mortality in the Black community.

Methods: We characterize trends in mortality due to opioid overdose in Wisconsin using CDC Wonder data for 1999-2018 by race, age, and gender. ICD-10 codes were selected per national guidelines for identifying opioid-related overdose deaths.

Results: Opioid overdose mortality increased 956% during the study period. Black populations had consistently higher risk than white populations, with an older age distribution.

Conclusion: We identify a disparity in opioid overdose mortality that has persisted over time in Wisconsin, indicating a possible gap in services.

July, 20, 2020.

File: Opioid-overdose-mortality-.pdf