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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
Senait Teklehaimanot, MPH, Richard S. Baker, MD, and Jose Luis Calderon, MD. Biomedical Research Center-RCMI, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, 1731 E. 120th Street, MP-30, Los Angeles, CA 90059, 323-563-5966, setekleh@cdrewu.edu
Introduction and Objective: Geographic variations in mortality and morbidity are well documented using various units of analyses. However, few studies have examined the existence, magnitude, or stability of geographic variations at the sub-county or community level. We examined geographical variations in mortality at the sub-county level in Los Angeles County during the period 1990 to 1998 in order to identify areas where mortality rates were persistently high or low. Methods: We used mortality data from the State of California Department of Health Services and population denominators from the Los Angeles County-Department of Health Services. We calculated age adjusted mortality rates for cardiovascular disease, cancer, stroke, AIDS, diabetes, and injuries in the eight geographically defined communities (service planning areas – SPAs) in Los Angeles County for 1990-1998. U.S. Census data (1990) on population provided the standard for the age adjustment. All data were analyzed using analysis of variance, and Bonferroni/Dunn's test for multiple comparisons with a significance level of P<0.05. Results: There was a significant difference in age adjusted mortality rate at the (P <, 001), ANOVA). Multiple comparison tests revealed that SPA6 had a higher mortality rate for five out the six leading causes of death compared with the other SPAs (P< .01). Conclusion: Geographic mortality variation exists at the sub-county level. From 1990 to 1998 there were moderate to strong variations in five of the six leading causes of death in SPA 6 in comparison with the other SPAs. Further investigations are required to determine the cause of this variation.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Mortality, Urban Health
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.