While premature death rates — defined as death among individuals aged 25 to 64 years of age — have dropped among Hispanics, blacks, and Asian Pacific Islanders, these rates have increased among whites and Native Americans, according to a new study published in The Lancet.
For the study, researchers analyzed cause-of-death and demographic data documented in death certificates compiled by the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics from 1999 to 2014. They then juxtaposed this information against population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau for the same time period.
Researchers attributed the decline in premature deaths among Hispanics, blacks and Asian Pacific Islanders to decreases in deaths related to cancer, heart disease and HIV.
The increasing rate of premature death among Native Americans and whites was largely attributable to drug poisonings that directly coincide with the rise of the nation's opioid epidemic. Researchers detected increases in death rates as high as 2 percent to 5 percent per year among these groups.
"The results of our study suggest that, in addition to continued efforts against cancer, heart disease and HIV, there is an urgent need for aggressive actions targeting emerging causes of death, namely drug overdoses, suicide and liver disease," said Meredith Shiels, PhD, a researcher with the National Cancer Institute and lead author of the study.
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