Carol Forsloff - National trends in recent decades reveal an "emerging mortality penalty" for people living outside of metropolitan areas, Mississippi State researchers are reporting in American Journal of Public Health.
"This is a reversal of a century-long trend that may have long-term ramifications for rural health care policy," lead researcher Jeralynn Cossman said. "In fact, if this disparity continues on its current trajectory, it will grow larger than our racial disparity in mortality."
University scientists now find after researching more than 40,000 more people living in rural counties that they die annually at rates higher than those in metropolitan areas. Research also shows the history of people dying more often in cities than in rural areas has been reversed since the mid-1980's, leading researchers to explore the reasons why this is happening.
A team from Mississippi's nationally recognized Social Science Research Center finds rural areas have higher death rates overall from and specially in the three areas cited as the top three causes of death, heart disease, cancer and stroke are cited as the top three causes.
Team members include Jeralynn S. Cossman, an associate professor; Wesley L. James, a postdoctoral associate; Arthur G. Cosby, SSRC director; and Ronald E. Cossman, research professor. They analyzed mortality data covering the years 1968-2005 obtained from the National Center for Health Statistics Compressed Mortality File.
Cossman says, "Mortality rate projections for 2010-15 show the trend continuing, "
Why is this happening? Researchers point to the following:
According to the MSU team, possible causes could be changes:
--In standards of health care that have not been implemented in rural areas,
--In rates of people without insurance coverage,
--In rates of disease occurrences, and
--Changes in health behaviors.
Jeralynn Cossman said these reasons need to be examined to determine why these shifts have occurred, and the underlying concerns about them.
" Some possibilities include changes in medical treatments for heart attacks and cancer, and the growth of Hispanic populations in rural areas, " Cossman declares.
"This is a reversal of a century-long trend that may have long-term ramifications for rural health care policy," lead researcher Jeralynn Cossman said. "In fact, if this disparity continues on its current trajectory, it will grow larger than our racial disparity in mortality."
University scientists now find after researching more than 40,000 more people living in rural counties that they die annually at rates higher than those in metropolitan areas. Research also shows the history of people dying more often in cities than in rural areas has been reversed since the mid-1980's, leading researchers to explore the reasons why this is happening.
A team from Mississippi's nationally recognized Social Science Research Center finds rural areas have higher death rates overall from and specially in the three areas cited as the top three causes of death, heart disease, cancer and stroke are cited as the top three causes.
Team members include Jeralynn S. Cossman, an associate professor; Wesley L. James, a postdoctoral associate; Arthur G. Cosby, SSRC director; and Ronald E. Cossman, research professor. They analyzed mortality data covering the years 1968-2005 obtained from the National Center for Health Statistics Compressed Mortality File.
Cossman says, "Mortality rate projections for 2010-15 show the trend continuing, "
Why is this happening? Researchers point to the following:
According to the MSU team, possible causes could be changes:
--In standards of health care that have not been implemented in rural areas,
--In rates of people without insurance coverage,
--In rates of disease occurrences, and
--Changes in health behaviors.
Jeralynn Cossman said these reasons need to be examined to determine why these shifts have occurred, and the underlying concerns about them.
" Some possibilities include changes in medical treatments for heart attacks and cancer, and the growth of Hispanic populations in rural areas, " Cossman declares.
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