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It again should be noted that the leading causes of death formales and females and subsequent
trendswere identified differently than other reports ofmortality counts and rates. As shown in
Tables 9 ? 14, heart disease and cancer continue to be the overall leading causes of death for
Arizonans age 65 and older, and this holds true for bothmales and females. Heart disease and
cancer represent the greatest disease burden our older populationmust face, withmemory-related
diseases representing the causes of death that will claim themost rapidly increasingproportion of
olderArizonans over the cominghalf-century.
Finally, the role of this report was to summarize the current and future state of health among
Arizona?s older adults. The information summarized herein represents onlyone step in the
process of public health promotion. It is our hope that those taskedwith the development of
health policy to serve the needs ofArizona?s seniorswill take the results of this report into
account when decidinghow to effectivelyplan and fund social services, communityprograms,
and health delivery systems. The great increases in human health and longevity in the early20
th
Centurywere related largely to public health programs that focused on the primaryprevention of
disease. In the 21
st
Century, a large bodyof research is emerging that suggests a healthydiet,
physical activity, social engagement, and intellectual and creative pursuits can help prevent the
development of a host ofmorbidities amongolder adults, reduce the impact of these diseases
once theyhave developed, and reduce the risk ofmortalitydue to these chronic diseases (Ford et
al. 2011;Michael et al. 1999; National Institute onAging2008; Savica andPetersen 2011).
Health-related behaviors present a great opportunity for those developing and implementing
health policy aimed at increasing the health andwellbeingof seniors, as programs that promote
these activities among seniors are relatively inexpensive compared to the costs of treating
chronic diseaseswithin the health care system.With that being said,more fundamental
determinants of health such as access to socioeconomic resources including education, solid job
opportunities, income equality, and strong social tieswill persistently reduce our ability to
prevent the development ofmorbidities across the lifecourse. Tomost effectivelyprevent the
development of chronic diseases and disabilities associatedwith aging, policymakersmust focus
both on the larger socioeconomic determinants of health aswell as the development and
maintenance of healthyhabits and behaviors at the individual level.
