Disparities in years of potential life lost among racial and ethnic groups in Washington state

Abstract Background The disproportionate mortality burden racial and ethnic groups endure compared to their non-Hispanic white (NHW) counterparts is a widely known public health issue in the United States. Methods We examined disparities in premature mortality through a measure of years of potential...

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Main Authors: Solmaz Amiri, Sandte L. Stanley, Justin T. Denney, Dedra Buchwald
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2022-09-01
Series:Archives of Public Health
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s13690-022-00969-1
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author Solmaz Amiri
Sandte L. Stanley
Justin T. Denney
Dedra Buchwald
author_facet Solmaz Amiri
Sandte L. Stanley
Justin T. Denney
Dedra Buchwald
author_sort Solmaz Amiri
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Background The disproportionate mortality burden racial and ethnic groups endure compared to their non-Hispanic white (NHW) counterparts is a widely known public health issue in the United States. Methods We examined disparities in premature mortality through a measure of years of potential life lost (YPLL) among racial and ethnic groups after accounting for individual and place-based risk factors. Data were nearly 400,000 geocoded death records from Washington state mortality records from 2011 to 2018. Decedent records included information on marital status and educational attainment at time of death. We linked these records to census tract indicators of rurality and area deprivation based on residential longitude and latitude coordinates at time of death. We conducted censored Poisson regression to test adjusted associations between racial and ethnic identity and YPLL. Results Relative to non-Hispanic whites, non-Hispanic blacks, American Indian and Alaska Natives, Asian or other Pacific Islanders, multiracial, and Hispanic decedents had significantly higher rates of YPLL. Controlling for sociodemographic factors reduced but did not eliminate the disparities in YPLL between non-Hispanic whites and other racial and ethnic groups. Controlling for place-based risk factors did not further attenuate differences. Conclusions Racial and ethnic minorities suffer disproportionately from premature mortality. Researchers and policy makers must recognize the disproportionate risks to premature mortality and work together to alleviate them through the delivery of better and more accessible targeted services.
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spelling doaj.art-85c5886637624e5d974f3d3abed23e742022-12-22T02:06:15ZengBMCArchives of Public Health2049-32582022-09-018011810.1186/s13690-022-00969-1Disparities in years of potential life lost among racial and ethnic groups in Washington stateSolmaz Amiri0Sandte L. Stanley1Justin T. Denney2Dedra Buchwald3Institute for Research and Education to Advance Community Health, Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine, Washington State UniversityDepartment of Sociology, Washington State UniversityDepartment of Sociology, Washington State UniversityInstitute for Research and Education to Advance Community Health, Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine, Washington State UniversityAbstract Background The disproportionate mortality burden racial and ethnic groups endure compared to their non-Hispanic white (NHW) counterparts is a widely known public health issue in the United States. Methods We examined disparities in premature mortality through a measure of years of potential life lost (YPLL) among racial and ethnic groups after accounting for individual and place-based risk factors. Data were nearly 400,000 geocoded death records from Washington state mortality records from 2011 to 2018. Decedent records included information on marital status and educational attainment at time of death. We linked these records to census tract indicators of rurality and area deprivation based on residential longitude and latitude coordinates at time of death. We conducted censored Poisson regression to test adjusted associations between racial and ethnic identity and YPLL. Results Relative to non-Hispanic whites, non-Hispanic blacks, American Indian and Alaska Natives, Asian or other Pacific Islanders, multiracial, and Hispanic decedents had significantly higher rates of YPLL. Controlling for sociodemographic factors reduced but did not eliminate the disparities in YPLL between non-Hispanic whites and other racial and ethnic groups. Controlling for place-based risk factors did not further attenuate differences. Conclusions Racial and ethnic minorities suffer disproportionately from premature mortality. Researchers and policy makers must recognize the disproportionate risks to premature mortality and work together to alleviate them through the delivery of better and more accessible targeted services.https://doi.org/10.1186/s13690-022-00969-1Premature mortalityYears of potential life lostRacial and ethnic disparities
spellingShingle Solmaz Amiri
Sandte L. Stanley
Justin T. Denney
Dedra Buchwald
Disparities in years of potential life lost among racial and ethnic groups in Washington state
Archives of Public Health
Premature mortality
Years of potential life lost
Racial and ethnic disparities
title Disparities in years of potential life lost among racial and ethnic groups in Washington state
title_full Disparities in years of potential life lost among racial and ethnic groups in Washington state
title_fullStr Disparities in years of potential life lost among racial and ethnic groups in Washington state
title_full_unstemmed Disparities in years of potential life lost among racial and ethnic groups in Washington state
title_short Disparities in years of potential life lost among racial and ethnic groups in Washington state
title_sort disparities in years of potential life lost among racial and ethnic groups in washington state
topic Premature mortality
Years of potential life lost
Racial and ethnic disparities
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s13690-022-00969-1
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AT sandtelstanley disparitiesinyearsofpotentiallifelostamongracialandethnicgroupsinwashingtonstate
AT justintdenney disparitiesinyearsofpotentiallifelostamongracialandethnicgroupsinwashingtonstate
AT dedrabuchwald disparitiesinyearsofpotentiallifelostamongracialandethnicgroupsinwashingtonstate