Lower than heart disease, cancer and smoking but higher than obesity, diabetes, drug overdoses, suicides, firearms, and homicides.
According to a new study published today, poverty has a mortality rate equivalent to that of dementia, accidents, stroke, Alzheimer’s, and diabetes. In fact, poverty is responsible for ten times more deaths than all homicides combined in 2019, despite receiving far less attention compared to homicide, firearms, and suicide.
According to a recent analysis published in JAMA, poverty ranks as the fourth leading cause of death in the US, behind only heart disease, cancer, and smoking. Surprisingly, other major causes of death such as obesity, diabetes, drug overdoses, suicides, firearms, and homicides were found to be less lethal compared to poverty.
Until now, the exact number of deaths in the US linked to poverty has been difficult to determine. However, a new paper from UC Riverside, published today in JAMA, estimates that poverty was responsible for around 183,000 deaths among individuals aged 15 and above in 2019.
The estimate is believed to be a cautious one since the data used in the study is from the year immediately preceding the COVID-19 pandemic, which has resulted in a significant increase in mortality rates worldwide and is still affecting populations.
As per the analysis, poverty ranks fourth among the leading causes of death in the US, after heart disease, cancer, and smoking. Surprisingly, poverty was found to be deadlier than obesity, diabetes, drug overdoses, suicides, firearms, and homicides, which are considered common causes of death.
“Poverty kills as much as dementia, accidents, stroke, Alzheimer’s, and diabetes,” comments lead author David Brady. “Poverty silently killed 10 times as many people as all the homicides in 2019. And yet, homicide firearms and suicide get vastly more attention.”
The study also revealed that individuals living in poverty, defined as those with incomes below 50% of the median income in the US, have similar rates of survival up until their forties. However, beyond this age, they experience significantly higher mortality rates compared to those with more sufficient income and resources.
To estimate the number of deaths associated with poverty, the study used income data from the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan and household survey data from the Cross-National Equivalent File. Reported deaths from the surveys were then cross-validated with the National Death Index, a database maintained by the National Center for Health Statistics that monitors deaths and their causes in the US.
The researchers assert that their findings carry significant policy implications.
“Because certain ethnic and racial minority groups are far more likely to be in poverty, our estimates can improve understanding of ethnic and racial inequalities in life expectancy,” notes the paper.
David Brady, the director of UCR’s Blum Initiative on Global and Regional Poverty, suggested that policymakers should pay greater attention to poverty based on the findings of the study.
Apart from the emotional distress caused to surviving family and friends, the study also highlights the significant economic costs associated with deaths. As per Brady, experts agree that death can be financially burdensome for families, communities, and the government.
“If we had less poverty, there’d be a lot better health and well-being, people could work more, and they could be more productive,” Brady said. “All of those are benefits of investing in people through social policies.”
Image Credit: Getty