States With Highest Rates of Preventable Deaths

Modifiable risk factors could help combat scourges like heart disease, cancer, CDC says

webmd.com - by Dennis Thompson

THURSDAY, May 1, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- People in the southeastern United States have a much greater risk of dying early from any of the nation's five leading causes of death, federal health officials reported Thursday.

Those living in eight southern states -- Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee -- endure 28 percent to 33 percent of all potentially preventable deaths from heart disease, cancer, chronic lower respiratory disease, stroke and unintentional injury, according to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates.

"This data is yet another demonstration that when it comes to health in this country, your longevity and health are more determined by your ZIP code than they are by your genetic code," CDC director Dr. Tom Frieden said during a news conference.

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CDC - Potentially Preventable Deaths from the Five Leading Causes of Death — United States, 2008–2010

CDC - Up to 40 percent of annual deaths from each of five leading US causes are preventable