What can U.S. mortality data tell us about how to live longer?

Despite much of the backlash in recent years over government regulation and oversight there is one undeniable benefit of government intervention.  It is not particularly sexy but the presence of consistent and comprehensive data collection and reporting provided by government agencies is an extremely valuable asset in the progression of U.S. industry & society. One particularly morbid but influential data set is the Mortality data collected by the National Vital Statistics System.

Primarily, this data set counts the cause of death for all Americans annually and does this over a large number of demographic and age based data cuts. In short, it helps us to understand what is killing us?

Why do I think this important? Because too often in today's society people spend most of their time chasing the latest trend (keto, vegan diets etc.) or buying the newest health product (supplements or yoga subscriptions) and lose sight of the important elements of living a long and healthy life.

In this article, we will explore 2020's 15 leading causes of death to help us begin to shape our understanding of wellness today and provide readers with direction as it pertains to maximizing the number of healthy years they have.

We are going to look to answer two simple questions: 

1. What kills most Americans?
2. What drives these causes of death?

1. What kills most Americans?

According to 2020 data, deaths can be attributed to a wide range of conditions but trends to begin make themselves known. 

1. 45.2% of American Deaths are Caused by Heart Disease or Cancer with ~1.3 million people dying each year due to these causes.

2. COVID is a clear new contributor with 12.2% of deaths overall and ranking 3rd on the list (6x more lethal than the Flu & Pneumonia combined).

3. Accidents and Unintentional Injuries (7.0% of deaths) rank 4th which is much higher than I would anticipate given the progression in emergency and surgical care.

4. There are a host of other small contributors to US deaths (~30 different causes driving 5.1% of US Deaths.

This may be interesting but how can we better analyze the data to give us clear direction on how we can live longer.

2. What drives these causes of death?

Let's first consider a categorized version of the same chart:

 If we categorize each cause of death by one of the following three criteria: 

1. Destructive Habit - this cause of death is linked with specific lifestyle choices (smoking, drinking, over eating etc.) and can be influenced by lifestyle changes.

2. Catastrophic Event - this cause of death is largely independent of what is generally considered lifestyle choices (motor vehicle accident, deadly pathogen etc.)

3. Various or Unknown Cause - this cause of death is not yet well understood or there are a variety of drivers. 

We can see that a very large portion of American deaths (89%) are linked to causes of death that cam at least in some or large part be mitigated actively by lifestyle choices or lifestyle decisions. This does not mean to suggest that genetics or chance is not an active participant in whether we live or die but it does point to the potential for a considerable amount of agency in reducing American deaths.

Reviewing this mortality makes it clear to me that if you want to avoid death you need to take on three dimensions of wellness:

1. Minimize your exposure to catastrophic health events (motor vehicle accidents etc.)

2. Minimize your exposure to destructive lifestyle habits (smoking, drinking, etc.)

3. Build and maintain health optimizing habits (exercise, sleep, etc.)

In subsequent articles, we will discuss in more detail specific steps that individuals can take to reduce their mortality risk using additional and expanded data sources. 

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