GBD 2019: Cause-Specific Mortality by County, Race, and Ethnicity in the USA, 2000–19: A Systematic Analysis of Health Disparities

This article from The Lancet examines mortality rates across racial-ethnic groups in the United States, presenting estimates of disparities across race/ethnicity and county from 2000 to 2019. 

Using data compiled from the National Vital Statistics System (NVSS), the article estimates age-standardized mortality by racial-ethnic group, county, and cause of death, aiming to examine patterns across health conditions. The authors analyze mortality rates across 19 causes of death, including maternal disorders, respiratory diseases, HIV/AIDS, diabetes, unintentional injuries, and more. The article finds significant disparities in mortality by racial-ethnic group in the U.S.—for nearly all causes of death analyzed, American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) and Black populations had higher mortality rates than White populations. The authors present data for racial-ethnic and geographic disparities in mortality over time, and use maps to visually display and compare mortality data across regions. The article’s findings highlight the need for urgent action toward eliminating racial-ethnic health disparities and discuss the systemic and historical factors leading to these health outcomes—including racism, segregation, discrimination in health care, and more.

Led by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington, GBD is a global effort with researchers from over 150 countries and territories. IHME and other partnering organizations have developed numerous resources to disseminate and visualize the findings of the GBD studies, data visualizations and interactives, country profiles, policy reports, research articles, infographics, and the GBD Results Tool, which allows users to search GBD data.