leading causes of death
Two key measures of health in our community are how long we live and the quality of life we experience during those years. Life expectancy tells us how long a typical person is expected to live when they are born. Communities that have more opportunities for health will generally have a longer life expectancy.
Life EXPECTANCY tRENDS
Among California residents, women generally live longer than men, and Asian females have a substantially higher life expectancy than all other groups. Black men continue to have a substantially lower life expectancy than other groups.
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Since 2020, all population groups experienced a small decline in life expectancy due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The years of life lost from the virus disproportionately affected low-income people and people of color, further widening the life expectancy gap.
LIFE Expectancy TREnds in SLO County AND cALIFORNIA
Leading Causes of death
Understanding the impact of disease on our state and community is key to identifying and addressing barriers to health. Data on leading causes of death are used to monitor trends, recognize emerging challenges, track the effectiveness of interventions, and make public health decisions that improve and save lives.
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The total number of deaths from specific causes assigns the same weight to a death at age 80 as it does at age 30 or even at 1 year of age. By contrast, years of life lost (YLL) is a measure of premature mortality that takes into account both the frequency of deaths and the age at which it occurs. Looking at the data in this way helps organizations make policy and prioritization decisions about areas to focus education and prevention.
Leading Causes of Deaths and Years of Life Lost in SLO County
Source: CA Department of Public Health. California Community Burden of Disease Engine.
Trends in selected indicators
The CA Department of Public Health also monitors trends in selected indicators in their annual County Health Status Profiles. These reports highlight data recommended for monitoring by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in Healthy People 2030. Below are some of these indicators, which are shown as 3-year average age-adjusted death rates (per 100,000 population).
How do we compare to our neighbors?
It is also helpful to compare disease and injury in SLO County to other counties in California. This can put trends in context and help us determine whether an issue is regional or larger in scope.
How does HEALTH VARY ACROSS THE LIFESPAN?
The charts below show the five leading causes of death for different age groups in CA and SLO County.
In general, the two charts show a progression from multiple causes in the youngest age groups, to injury in the middle age groups, to cardiovascular/cancer/other chronic diseases in the older age groups; in addition to COVID-19 in middle and older age groups in the pandemic period.
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Among Californians age 15 to 44, the #1 cause of death is drug overdose, followed by road injuries, homicide and suicide.
Among older adults, multiple cardiovascular conditions and Alzheimer's disease are the leading causes. It is also notable that COVID-19 has become a leading cause of death among older individuals.
Leading Causes of Death across the life course in SLO County and California
"Exposures early on in life have life-long impacts on the life course trajectory of the individual, the family, and the community ... So we have to realize, for example, when you're seeing mental illness and people who are 20 or 30 years old, the exposures, the risk factors that could be the determinants of that started earlier in life."
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- Dr. Tomás Aragón, Former State Public Health Officer and Director
California Department of Public Health
Injuries
Many of the years of life lost noted above result from injuries. Injuries can impact the length and quality of life that we're able to lead. They can result from a variety of causes, including motor vehicle accidents, falls, and other accidents.
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In SLO County, deaths from accidents (unintentional injuries) have been on the rise, now accounting for an estimated 62 deaths per 100,000 population. This is greater than the CA average over the same time period (50 deaths per 100,000 population) and the Healthy People 2030 target of 43.2 deaths per 100,000 population.
62
age-adjusted death rate (per 100,000 people) from accidents (unintentional injuries) in SLO County
50
age-adjusted death rate (per 100,000 people) from accidents (unintentional injuries) in CA
Vehicle & Pedestrian iNJURIES
The CA Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) established rankings so that cities and counties could compare their traffic safety statistics to those of other cities with similar-sized populations. According to 2020 OTS rankings, out of 58 counties, San Luis Obispo County ranks 39th in the state for the rate of pedestrians who are injured or killed in accidents, and 4th for the number of victims killed or injured in bicycle accidents. (Note: Number 1 in the rankings is the highest, or “worst," indicated by a red triangle in the table below. Number 58 in the rankings is the lowest, or "best," indicated by a green triangle in the table below. Rankings in the middle are indicated by an orange bar in the table below.)
slo cOUNTY Crash Rankings
Sources:
1) California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) Crash Rankings
2) California Highway Patrol California Crash Reporting System
For more data on traffic incidents, visit UC Berkeley's Transportation Injury Mapping System (TIMS). The site hosts data and mapping analysis tools and information for traffic safety related research, policy and planning.
(Note: the tool requires the creation of a free account to use.)