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The 'mortality gap' between Republican and Democratic counties is widening, study says. Here's why.

OrlandNole

HR Heisman
Nov 29, 2003
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A new study found deaths rates are improving faster in Democratic counties than Republican ones.

Experts are calling this phenomenon the "mortality gap," and say state policies, individual health decisions and a shift in party demographics may be widening it.

Researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital looked at mortality rates using data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and compared them to federal and state election data from 2001 to 2019.

The team compiled data from more than 3,000 U.S. counties in all 50 states and found mortality rates decreased by 22% in Democratic counties but dropped only 11% in Republican counties, according to the study published Tuesday in the British Medical Journal.

“We wanted to see whether the political affiliation had an association with death rates in the U.S.,” said corresponding author Dr. Haider Warraich, associate physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and assistant professor at Harvard Medical School. “Over these two decades, the mortality gap between Republican and Democratic counties has really widened quite considerably.”

Mortality rates in Democratic counties dropped from 850 deaths per 100,000 people to 664, but in Republican counties, mortality rates declined from 867 to 771. The mortality gap widened across leading causes of death in the U.S. including heart disease, cancer, drug overdoses and suicide.

Democratic counties also saw greater reductions in deaths from chronic lower respiratory tract diseases, diabetes, influenza and pneumonia, and kidney disease.

Although Black and Hispanic Americans in Republican counties saw greater reductions in mortality rate compared to their white counterparts, the study still found Black residents experienced an overall higher mortality rate than any other race and ethnicity, regardless of the county's political leaning.


https://www.usatoday.com/story/news...udy-shows-widening-death-rate-gap/7530296001/
 
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The rate of improvement of change only tells a small story. This measurement does not consider how much room for improvement the two groups could achieve. For example, If I already get a 4.0GPA and my friend gets a 2.5GPA—- who had an edge to win a contest of who can improve their GPA the most?
 
The rate of improvement of change only tells a small story. This measurement does not consider how much room for improvement the two groups could achieve. For example, If I already get a 4.0GPA and my friend gets a 2.5GPA—- who had an edge to win a contest of who can improve their GPA the most?
On top of that you have to consider age. Most large cities will be considered democrat, but are also home to younger people.
 
The rate of improvement of change only tells a small story. This measurement does not consider how much room for improvement the two groups could achieve. For example, If I already get a 4.0GPA and my friend gets a 2.5GPA—- who had an edge to win a contest of who can improve their GPA the most?
They put those numbers in the article. 850 to 664 for blue and 867 to 771 for red.
 
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The rate of improvement of change only tells a small story. This measurement does not consider how much room for improvement the two groups could achieve. For example, If I already get a 4.0GPA and my friend gets a 2.5GPA—- who had an edge to win a contest of who can improve their GPA the most?

Mortality rates in Democratic counties dropped from 850 deaths per 100,000 people to 664, but in Republican counties, mortality rates declined from 867 to 771.

On top of that you have to consider age. Most large cities will be considered democrat, but are also home to younger people.

The linked article didn't mention it, but I heard no NPR this morning that the study controlled for differences in age and context (urban, suburban, rural).
 
Crime where the victims didn’t know their attackers is what I would be interested in.
% of unvaxed in Red Counties is the important figure to keep in mind....looks like Covid really didn’t go away after all. Not even dead Republicans can vote (legally)....but then we “know” what sticklers Repubbers are for enforcing voting laws!
 
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% of unvaxed in Red Counties is the important figure to keep in mind....looks like Covid really didn’t go away after all. Not even dead Republicans can vote (legally)....but then we “know” what sticklers Repubbers are for enforcing voting laws!
Yeah. Haiti has 1.5% of its population vaccinated and has one of the lowest death rates on earth. Weird.
 
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Yeah. Haiti has 1.5% of its population vaccinated and has one of the lowest death rates on earth. Weird.
Mask usage.
7ca4ef924e4d3a198060ec0713990559-1.jpeg
 
The average age in Haiti is 23. That’s probably the biggest reason why Covid has done very little; I also have never seen a picture of an overweight Haitian, which could have something to do with it. Unfortunately, most Haitians are way more concerned about their next meal than catching Covid.
 
More importantly…who misses the point on purpose to avoid dealing with their silly original point?
I'm not sure I know what your point is. Haiti is a poor country with low average age and very little obesity so the risk of covid to that population is likely lower. Also the mortality rate of that country is very high so the impact of covid on early death is likely low.

The important thing is this study analyzed data from 2001-2019 so covid likely had less of an impact.

On the other hand, republicans and rural residents have a lower average level of education. This has been shown for years to impact health in both smoking, low exercise rates, and more unhealthy diet.

 
The average age in Haiti is 23. That’s probably the biggest reason why Covid has done very little; I also have never seen a picture of an overweight Haitian, which could have something to do with it. Unfortunately, most Haitians are way more concerned about their next meal than catching Covid.
Haiti's obesity rate is 18% compared to the US at 36%

 
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