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Show HN: Mortality Rates in the US Visualized

matthewisabel.com

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Re: Show HN: Mortality Rates in the US Visualized

#91

Post by bane »

Remote, low population areas are high for accidents and suicides.

The Alzheimer's chart was unusual, all things being equal, I'd have expected the statistic to be flatter.

Suicide, Alcohol and Parkinson's have a strange sort of correlation.

how come whenever I see these kinds of things, it's always for the U.S.? Is the data simply not available in other countries/areas? I've almost never seen similar visualization experiments for say...France. Is the U.S. just that* much better in collecting and distributing data about itself?

Re: Show HN: Mortality Rates in the US Visualized

#92

Post by bane »

kyro wrote: post #49
pg wrote: post #2

One interesting thing I learned from this is how highly correlated mortality from heart disease and cancer are. They're quite different types of disease, but perhaps what they have in common is that they're diseases of civilization in the sense of being caused by de facto "toxins" (I don't mean this literally) of industrialized life like processed foods, lack of exercise, cigarettes, etc. Is there local data about po…

Also note that strokes are highly correlated with those two most likely due to it being a consequence of cardiovascular (read: heart) disease. The concentration of heart disease/stroke mortality in that region seems to be highly correlated with obesity distribution, which isn't a surprise. Actually, the state with the highest rate of obesity [1], Mississipi, is also the one with the highest mortality due to heart dis…

The cancer bumps in West VA and Kentucky (and to some extent the rest of Appalachia) may have something to do with the mining industry.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountaintop_removal_mining

"According to 21 scientific studies there has been major effects on the population in the Appalachia where MTM takes place including over 50% higher cancer rates, 42% higher birth defect rates, and $75 billion a year in public health costs from pollution."

Re: Show HN: Mortality Rates in the US Visualized

#93

Post by bane »

icambron wrote: post #68
kyro wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also note that strokes are highly correlated with those two most likely due to it being a consequence of cardiovascular (read: heart) disease. The concentration of heart disease/stroke mortality in that region seems to be highly correlated with obesity distribution, which isn't a surprise. Actually, the state with the highest rate of obesity [1], Mississipi, is also the one with the highest mortality due to heart dis…

I have no expertise here, but I wonder if the Alzheimer's rate in Washington and North Dakota reflect differences is how deaths are classified.

They're also statistically small numbers, so percentages are larger comparatively. But it definitely is one of the standout questions from this.

Re: Show HN: Mortality Rates in the US Visualized

#94

Post by DanielBMarkham »

Some interesting patterns here.

I know several folks who live in Kentucky. Doesn't look like the state does too well. Florida, on the other hand, seems to hold up well across the board. Obesity kills in the deep south and especially the central Gulf states big time, and there's a string of alcoholism than runs along the Rocky Mountains.

I don't find the Connecticut/Hawaii good numbers too strange, as both have very high incomes and cost of living.

Re: Show HN: Mortality Rates in the US Visualized

#95

Post by bane »

tbenst wrote: post #58

On first glance, I was shocked by how similar it looked to the electoral map from Presidential elections. 39/50 states in this chart are the correct color for the 2012 electoral map. For fun, I then took the correlation of the mortality rate and percentage of votes for Romney for each state and got at 49% correlation. It goes without saying that correlation != causation and I do not mean this as a political statement…

Put another way, different mortality causes could be reflected in different political needs.

Re: Show HN: Mortality Rates in the US Visualized

#96

Post by adventured »

ars wrote: post #84

Reminds me of "A Fire Upon the Deep", because the warmer the climate the worse the mortality rate.

That's not accurate.

California, Arizona, Hawaii, Florida are among the best states for longevity. The mortality rates in Hawaii for example are the lowest, and California is #2. The numbers for Texas and New Mexico, while elevated, are still dramatically lower than the high mortality belt numbers.

Also, one of the biggest offenders is West Virginia, and having spent a lot of time there, it's not a particularly warm state about half the year (certainly not compared to Mississippi).

Re: Show HN: Mortality Rates in the US Visualized

#98

Post by DharmaPolice »

DanielBMarkham wrote: post #94

Some interesting patterns here. I know several folks who live in Kentucky. Doesn't look like the state does too well. Florida, on the other hand, seems to hold up well across the board. Obesity kills in the deep south and especially the central Gulf states big time, and there's a string of alcoholism than runs along the Rocky Mountains. I don't find the Connecticut/Hawaii good numbers too strange, as both have very h…

If the data is age adjusted it would be interesting to know if the Florida figures are influenced by retirees moving there.

Re: Show HN: Mortality Rates in the US Visualized

#99

Post by ekianjo »

erichurkman wrote: post #66
dubfan wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a resident of Washington the first thing that comes to mind is the difference in climate between the west and east. The eastern part of the state is mostly semi-arid, nearly desert in some areas. I've heard we also have one of the highest rates of multiple sclerosis in the US, but I'm having a hard time finding good data on that.

It could also be something innocent, like a large treatment center or palliative care facility. That is, unless the data is meticulously groomed to report the patients' county/state of origin.

I contacted Dr Doraiswamy (a well known Alzheimer specialist) and he could not think of any other reason than "higher rate of APoE4 genotype due to greater Scandinavian heritage". He also suggested this could be coming from the way the death ratio is calculated "ie the denominator of deaths to all other causes is lower due to better diet".

I'll see what I can find.

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