Table 1. Sociodemographic, Population, Health Status, and Food Environment Characteristics of US Counties by Mortality Trajectory Cluster.
| Characteristic | Overall cohort (3133 counties), median (IQR) | Mortality group, median (IQR) | P value for trend | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low (1057 counties [34%]) | Intermediate (1382 counties [44%]) | High (694 counties [22%]) | |||
| Demographic data | |||||
| Population density, persons per square mile | 45.1 (17.0-116.0) | 25.1 (5.4-104.3) | 60.4 (22.7-148.0) | 45.1 (27.6-80.6) | <.001 |
| Sex, % | |||||
| Female | 50.5 (49.5-51.1) | 50.1 (49.2-50.9) | 50.5 (49.7-51.1) | 50.8 (49.8-51.6) | <.001 |
| Male | 49.5 (48.9-50.5) | 49.9 (49.1-50.8) | 49.5 (48.9-50.3) | 49.2 (48.4-50.2) | <.001 |
| Age >55 y, % | 30.7 (27.1-34.4) | 31.8 (26.5-37.0) | 30.7 (27.3-34.1) | 29.8 (27.5-32.4) | <.001 |
| Race and ethnicity, % | |||||
| Hispanic | 3.7 (1.9-9.0) | 5.4 (2.5-13.7) | 3.6 (1.8-8.4) | 2.5 (1.4-4.8) | <.001 |
| Racial minority groupa | 9.9 (4.5-22.7) | 7.6 (4.1-14.5) | 9.7 (4.5-20.5) | 23.9 (6.5-40.8) | <.001 |
| White | 90.1 (77.3-95.5) | 92.4 (85.5-95.9) | 90.3 (79.5-95.5) | 76.1 (59.2- 93.5) | <.001 |
| Population born outside the US, % | 2.7 (1.4-5.7) | 3.8 (1.9-8.4) | 2.8 (1.4-5.5) | 1.6 (0.9-3.0) | <.001 |
| Socioeconomic metrics | |||||
| Distress scoreb | 50.1 (25.0-75.0) | 28.4 (12.6-49.2) | 50.2 (28.7-70.5) | 80.6 (65-91.4) | <.001 |
| Population in distressed zip code, % | 8.0 (0-58.0) | 0 (0-6.0) | 11.0 (0-50.0) | 67.0 (30.0-95.8) | <.001 |
| Median household income, $ | 45 200 (38 900-52 500) | 51 000 (44 800-58 800) | 45 600 (40 400-52 000) | 36 900 (33 300-41 500) | <.001 |
| Poverty rate, % | 14.8 (11.0-19.1) | 11.4 (8.8-14.6) | 14.8 (11.6-17.6) | 20.6 (17.1-24.4) | <.001 |
| Less than high school education | 13.1 (9.5-18.7) | 9.4 (7.3-12.6) | 13.3 (10.4-17.6) | 20.1 (16.1-23.2) | <.001 |
| Adults not in work, % | 24.0 (18.9-30.5) | 19.0 (15.1-24.0) | 23.8 (20.1-29.1) | 31.3 (27.5-36.9) | <.001 |
| Uninsured, % | 20.8 (16.3-25.3) | 18.6 (13.7-24.6) | 20.2 (16.0-24.9) | 23.7 (20.5-26.4) | <.001 |
| Physical environment | |||||
| RUCA code (micropolitan) | 5.2 (2.4-8.0) | 6.2 (2.5-9.4) | 4.7 (2.0-7.6) | 5.3 (3.4-7.5) | <.001 |
| Violent crime rate per 100 000 population | 199.0 (112.0-332.2) | 161.5 (89.0-262.4) | 200.4 (119.1-334.9) | 272.8 (155.3-431.3) | <.001 |
| Housing vacancy rate, % | 10.6 (7.5-14.2) | 8.3 (5.9-12.6) | 10.3 (7.9-13.4) | 13.7 (11.3-16.1) | <.001 |
| No. of establishments in 2014 | 542.5 (225.0-1473.5) | 609.5 (209.2-2162.2) | 651.0 (261.0-1720.0) | 380.0 (205.0-776.0) | <.001 |
| Food desert, % | 13.0 (0-28.6) | 6.8 (0-22.0) | 14.3 (0-26.9) | 22.2 (0-35.7) | <.001 |
| Access to exercise, % | 62.1 (43.3-77.3) | 68.7 (49.5-84.8) | 63.5 (46.0-76.7) | 48.3 (33.0-64.7) | <.001 |
| Health status and behaviors | |||||
| BMI >30, % | 31.2 (28.5-33.7) | 28.6 (25.5-31.3) | 31.4 (29.3-33.4) | 34.4 (32.0-36.9) | <.001 |
| T2DM, % | 10.9 (9.6-12.5) | 9.6 (8.6-10.9) | 10.9 (9.9-12.1) | 12.9 (11.7-14.3) | <.001 |
| Current smoking, % | 17.8 (15.7-20.7) | 15.8 (14.6-17.1) | 18.3 (16.2-20.3) | 21.8 (19.6-23.9) | <.001 |
| No leisure physical activity, % | 27.7 (23.9-30.9) | 23.8 (19.9-27.3) | 27.9 (24.9-30.3) | 32.2 (29.6-35.1) | <.001 |
| Frequent distress, % | |||||
| Mental | 11.1 (9.6-12.6) | 9.6 (8.6-10.9) | 11.2 (10.1-12.3) | 13.2 (12.2-14.3) | <.001 |
| Physical | 11.2 (9.7-13.2) | 9.7 (8.7-11.0) | 11.2 (10.1-12.6) | 13.9 (12.4-15.2) | <.001 |
| Adults with fair/poor health, % | 15.9 (13.0-20.1) | 12.9 (11.5-15.0) | 16.2 (13.9-19.1) | 21.4 (18.8-24.1) | <.001 |
Abbreviations: BMI, body mass index (calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared); RUCA, rural-urban commuting area; T2DM, type 2 diabetes.
a
Includes individuals self-identifying as Black or African American, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, other, or multiple races/ethnicities.
b
Scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating higher levels of distress.