Agenda - 12-03-1990 - Laserfiche WebLink

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C. mr1RTAT TTV 24 The mortality rate in Orange County is below that of the state and has been declining fairly consistently over the past three years. (1988 C.C. - 5.72; N.C. -8.88) (Table 14). There is, in fact, only one county in the state, Northampton, which has a lower mortality rate. This, combined with the increasing birth rate and migration, ma,, - e\plain the enormous growth in population in the county over the past three years. A discussion of the population growth is presented in the section on socio- demographic factors. when disease specific mortality rates are stratified by age, it becomes evident that young people in the county . generally fair much better than in other parts of the state. The rates of death among young people under the age of twenty in Orange County by accident - both motor vehicle and other - are 32% and 85% lower than the state respectively. The rate of congenital anomalies is also lower than the state within this age group (O.C. - 8.90; N.C. - 14.390) However, the suicide rate is 22% higher than that of the state (O.C. - 3.58; N.C. - 2.80). (See Tables 14 and 15) Among people ages 20 -64 Orange County experiences a significantly lower rate of heart disease and cerebrovascular disease. (Heart Disease - 51% difference; CVD - 63% difference) However, orange County is significantly above the year 2000 target objective of deaths from cerebrovascular disease (O.C. - 28.6/100,000; Year 2000 objective 16.2/100,000). In addition, the rates of all forms of cancer are lower than those at the state level. People ages 65 and over generally experience the same death rates as at the state level. The only exception is pancreatic cancer which has a greater death rate in Orange County (O.C. - 83.73; N.C. - 58.64). It is unknown at this point what factors bring about this discrepancy. (See Tables 14 and 15) When these rates are age - adjusted and stratified by race and sex, a gene -r-a -1 pattern of disparity between white and nonwhite rates is evident. Furthermore, the overall mortality rate and the majority of cause specific rates among white women are significantly lower than nonwhite women as well as white and nonwhite men. The only exceptions are death due to breast cancer, chronic pulmonary disease, and suicide, in which white women surpass nonwhite women. Suicide is of particular concern because, even after age adjustment, women in Orange County have a higher rate than do women in the estate. (O.C. - 8.2; N.C. - 5.7) 21