Orange County NC Website
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Leading Causes of Death in Orange County (2004-2008) <br />The leading causes of death in Orange County, NC <br />continue to be cancer, heart disease, and cerebro- <br />vascular disease. Health disparities and lifestyle <br />behaviors such as smoking, physical inactivity, and <br />poor diet are linked to many of these leading causes <br />of death. <br />Overall, Orange County has a lower age-adjusted <br />death rate than the State averages in all categories. <br />Death rates attributed to colon, pancreatic, and lung <br />cancer continue to decrease, and are lower than the <br />State rates. However, the death rates due to breast <br />and prostate cancer have increased over the past <br />decade, and are still above the State rates.' <br />Cancer remains the top cause of death in the County; <br />and the number of cases is expected to increase as <br />the population ages. In 2006, 586 cancer cases$ <br />were reported in Orange County. After the gender- <br />specific cancers (i.e. prostate and breast), lung <br />cancer is the second most common cancer in both <br />men and women. In Central North Carolina, lung <br />cancer incidence rates in males have been steady, <br />while death rates have been decreasing. For <br />females, the incidence rates have been increasing, <br />and death rates due to lung cancer have been steady <br />in the past few years.9 <br />In 2008, North Carolina ranked 17`h in the nation with <br />the highest prevalence of adult diabetes,10 which is <br />an ever growing problem in Orange County. <br />Compared to last year, the diabetes death rate in <br />Orange County has increased, while the State's rate <br />has slightly decreased. Furthermore, the minority <br />death rate in Orange County (44.6 per 100,000) is <br />significantly higher than the overall rate (17.7) and <br />the Caucasian rate of 12.3 per 100,000. This shows <br />that many minority residents are not receiving or <br />accessing adequate preventative care or treatment <br />for their illness. <br />Health Disparities <br />Minorities living in Orange County continue to suffer <br />from higher rates of death due to many of the leading <br />causes of illness than Caucasians. Minority residents <br />are 3.6 times more likely to die from diabetes <br />complications, and 5 times more likely to die from <br />kidney disease (see Table below). <br />Factors contributing to health disparities include <br />socio-economic status, level of education, access to <br />health care services, real or perceived discrimination, <br />poverty/inadequate funds to pay for services, lack of <br />insurance, fear and distrust of the system, lack of <br />transportation, and a possible language barrier. <br />4 <br />