Back on April 4, I posted on how African American life expectancy in Cambria County lagged behind the state and US rates and behind other groups. This can be seen in the Table below. Questions were put to me on how the opioid epidemic might be related to this discrepancy.
The website Overdose Free PA presents drug overdose data for Cambria County and the other 66 Counties in the state. It states that between 2015 and 2018 there were 299 drug overdose deaths in the county. 90% of these deaths were Caucasian and 8% were African American. 78% of the deaths were between the age of 25 and 54. 67% were male. Many of the dead had multiple drugs involved.
The County does have a high rate of overdoses compared to the surrounding counties with 227 deaths per 100,000. Compared to the post populous counties in Pennsylvania, Philadelphia had a higher rate at 250 deaths per 100,000 while Allegheny at 184.1/100,000. The State rate for this period was 139.8 deaths per 100,000.
The the % of African-American deaths (8%) was higher than their % of the population of the county (3.4%), these numbers suggest that opioids were less involved in the low life expectancy for African Americans. However, they do suggest that they are involved in low numbers for Caucasians. In Cambria County Caucasian life expectancy was 2.4 years lower than the US rate and 2.8 years less than the Pennsylvania rate. The low life expectancy for African Americans appear to be driven by a high child mortality rate as seen in the table below. Child mortality is different from infant mortality. it refers to deaths after infancy.
YPLL stands for years of potential life lost for years lost before age 75. For example, if someone dies at age 25 then they have 50 years of potential life lost.
`**Related Posts**
Group Life Expectancy (Years)
|
Cambria County[1]
|
Pennsylvania
|
US
|
Overall
|
75.6
|
78.3
|
78.6
|
Caucasian
|
76.1
|
78.9
|
78.5
|
African-American
|
64.8
|
73.4
|
74.8
|
Hispanic
|
87.7
|
85.3
|
81.8
|
 |
| Drug overdose deaths for Cambria County 2015-2018 |
The website Overdose Free PA presents drug overdose data for Cambria County and the other 66 Counties in the state. It states that between 2015 and 2018 there were 299 drug overdose deaths in the county. 90% of these deaths were Caucasian and 8% were African American. 78% of the deaths were between the age of 25 and 54. 67% were male. Many of the dead had multiple drugs involved.
County
|
Deaths 2015-2018
|
2018 Population
|
Deaths/100,000
|
Cambria
|
299
|
131,730
|
227.0
|
Bedford
|
41
|
48,176
|
85.1
|
Blair
|
141
|
122,492
|
115.1
|
Centre
|
72
|
162,805
|
44.2
|
Clearfield
|
52
|
79,388
|
65.5
|
Fayette
|
219
|
130,441
|
167.9
|
Indiana
|
157
|
84,501
|
185.8
|
Somerset
|
98
|
73,952
|
132.5
|
Philadelphia
|
3,960
|
1,584,138
|
250.0
|
Allegheny
|
2,243
|
1,218,452
|
184.1
|
Pennsylvania
|
17,900
|
12,807,060
|
139.8
|
The County does have a high rate of overdoses compared to the surrounding counties with 227 deaths per 100,000. Compared to the post populous counties in Pennsylvania, Philadelphia had a higher rate at 250 deaths per 100,000 while Allegheny at 184.1/100,000. The State rate for this period was 139.8 deaths per 100,000.
The the % of African-American deaths (8%) was higher than their % of the population of the county (3.4%), these numbers suggest that opioids were less involved in the low life expectancy for African Americans. However, they do suggest that they are involved in low numbers for Caucasians. In Cambria County Caucasian life expectancy was 2.4 years lower than the US rate and 2.8 years less than the Pennsylvania rate. The low life expectancy for African Americans appear to be driven by a high child mortality rate as seen in the table below. Child mortality is different from infant mortality. it refers to deaths after infancy.
Period
|
|||
Cambria County YPLL
Rate
|
2012-2014
|
2014-2016
|
2015-2017
|
Overall
|
8,397
|
8,602
|
10,335
|
Caucasian
|
8,424
|
9,671
|
|
African American
|
14,892
|
24,443
|
|
Child Mortality (dealths/100,000)
|
2012-2015
|
2013-2016
|
2014-2017
|
Overall
|
52
|
56.7
|
60
|
Caucasian
|
48.3
|
43
|
|
African American
|
171.5
|
253
|
|
YPLL stands for years of potential life lost for years lost before age 75. For example, if someone dies at age 25 then they have 50 years of potential life lost.
