2B. LEADING CAUSESOF DEATH
Diseases of heart andmalignant neoplasm (cancer)
Figure2B-8
Deaths fromHeart Disease andCancer amongArizonans 85+, 2003-2013
Among Arizonans age 85 and
over, heart disease is the number
one leading cause of death by a
widemargin. In 2013, adults aged
85 and over accounted for 16.2
percent of all deaths from cancer
but 39.1 percent of all deaths
from heart disease. In 2013, the
median age at death for heart
disease was 81 years (
Table 2D-
3
) and a minority of deaths (44.1
percent,
Table 2D-4
) were
premature, i.e., before reaching
the expected years of life at birth
for all U.S. residents (78.7 years
as of 2011).
However, from 2003 to 2013, the
number of deaths from cancer
increased by 36.3 percent among
Arizonans 85 years or older, more
than double the increase observed
in diseases of the heart (a 15.1
percent increase).
Figure2B-9
Age-adjustedMortalityRates
a
for Heart Disease andCancer by
Race/Ethnicity, Arizona, 2013
Notes:
a
Number of deaths per 100,000 population age-adjusted to the 2000 U.S. standard.
Arizona's White non-Hispanics
were 78.9 percent more likely
to die from diseases of the
heart and 54.1 percent more
likely to die from malignant
neoplasms in 2013 than Asians,
the groups with the lowest risk
of each respective cause of
death (
Figure 2B-9
,
Table 2B-
4
). Compared to Asians, Black
or African American Arizonans
were 90.2 percent more likely
to die of cancer and 2.4 times
more likely to die of heart
disease.
Among White non-Hispanics,
Hispanics, and Asians, the
relative risk of death from
cancer exceeded the mortality
risk of death from heart disease
in 2013 (
Table2B-3
).
114
Arizona Health Status and Vital Statistics 2013
