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5.3Results
OverallMortalityRates andDemographicCharacteristics
Table 8 presents the totalmortality counts, rates, and demographic statistics for deaths among
Arizonanswho died in 2012 bygender and age group. In 2012, 48,459Arizona residents died,
with about 72 percent (n=34,959) of these deaths occurring toArizonans 65 years and older.
The overallmortality ratewas 3,490.1 per 100,000 resident females age 65 and older and 3,987.4
per 100,000males.With each increasing age group, themortality rate increased at an
exponential rate for bothmales and females. Additional analyses (not shown here) revealed that
amongArizona adults age 65 years and older in 2012, the average age at deathwas 81.6 years,
with themean age at death being80.0 years formales and 83.0 years for females. Notably, 40.6
percent of the roughly35,000Arizonans age 65 and overwho died in 2012were 85 years and
older, a 5.3 percent increase from 2002.
In 2012, Arizona resident females represented 51 percent (n=17,856) of deaths amongpersons
65 years and older. The largest proportion of deaths amongwomen 65 years and olderwas
amongwomen 85 years and older (n=8,522, 47.7 percent). Arizona residentmales represented
49 percent (n=17,101) of deaths amongArizonans 65 years and older in 2012. Sixtypercent of
the 14,186 death amongArizonans age 85 and older in 2012were to females. Interestingly,
deaths among elderlymenweremore evenlydistributed than deaths among elderlywomen.
Unlike resident women, the largest proportion of deaths amongmen occurred amongmen 65 -74
years (n=6,427, 37.5 percent).
For bothmales and females, the vastmajorityof deaths amongolderArizona residents occurred
toWhite non-Hispanics. For both genders and all age groups,more than 80%of deaths in 2012
were toWhite non-Hispanics.With increasing age, the race/ethnicityof decedents become even
more homogenous, with deaths to all racial/ethnicminorities representing only15 percent of all
deaths amongArizonans age 85 and older in 2012.
AmongolderArizonanswho died in 2012,males tended to have somewhat higher educational
attainment than females. For example, about 43 percent (n=7,631) of decedent females had
earned a high school diploma and about 36 percent reported having some college education (n=
6,386). Formale decedents age 65 and older, 32 percent reported earning a high school degree (n
=5,436) and 49 percent reported having attended some college (n=8,124).
Concerningmarital status, widows represented the largest proportion of deaths among resident
females 65 years and older (58.6 percent)whilemarriedmales represented the largest proportion
of residentmales (57.4 percent). Themajorityofwidowed femaleswere 85 years and older,
reaffirming the relatively long lifespan of females compared tomales.
Finally, themajorityofArizona residents age 65 and olderwho died in 2012 lived in areas
defined as urban. For bothmale and female decedents, about 80 percent resided in urban settings.
