Urban-Rural Disparities in Deaths of Despair: A County-Level Analysis 2004-2016 in the U.S.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

The purpose of this study is to examine nationwide disparities in drug, alcohol, and suicide mortality; evaluate the association between county-level characteristics and these mortality rates; and illustrate spatial patterns of mortality risk to identify areas with elevated risk.

Methods

The authors applied a Bayesian spatial regression technique to investigate the association between U.S. county-level characteristics and drug, alcohol, and suicide mortality rates for 2004-2016, accounting for spatial correlation that occurs among counties.

Results

Mortality risks from drug, alcohol, and suicide were positively associated with the degree of rurality, the proportion of vacant housing units, the population with a disability, the unemployed population, the p

SUBMITTER: Lee JH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10997338 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature