Latest news with #mortalityrates
Medscape
07-07-2025
- Health
- Medscape
Geographic Gaps in Maternity Care Cost Lives
TOPLINE: Analysis of 14,772,210 live births revealed that counties designated as maternity care deserts faced significantly higher maternal mortality rates than those with full access to care. Desert counties showed a 36% higher risk for maternal death and a 26% increased risk for pregnancy-related mortality. METHODOLOGY: The analysis included county-level data from the CDC Wide-Ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research database from January 2018 to December 2021. A total of 14,772,210 live births were analyzed across four county categories: desert (n = 720,858), low access (n = 708,668), moderate access (n = 431,188), and full access (n = 12,911,496). Researchers restricted the study population to individuals aged 15-44 years to enhance accuracy and mitigate misclassification. Primary outcome measures included maternal mortality rate per 100,000 live births, with pregnancy-related mortality rate as a secondary outcome. TAKEAWAY: Desert counties showed significantly higher maternal mortality rates than full-access counties (32.25 vs 23.62 per 100,000 live births; absolute risk difference, 8.62; 95% CI, 4.63-12.61; adjusted incidence rate ratio [IRR], 1.36; 95% CI, 1.21-1.54). Desert counties also demonstrated higher pregnancy-related mortality rates than full-access counties (43.82 vs 34.72 per 100,000 live births; absolute risk difference, 9.10; 95% CI, 4.28-13.93; adjusted IRR, 1.26; 95% CI, 1.13-1.41). No significant differences in maternal or pregnancy-related mortality rates were found between low-access or moderate-access counties compared to full-access counties. IN PRACTICE: 'Maternity care deserts are associated with significantly higher rates of adverse maternal outcomes because limited access to skilled practitioners delays timely interventions during critical stages of pregnancy and childbirth,' the authors of the study wrote. SOURCE: This study was led by Tetsuya Kawakita, MD, MS, from the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Macon and Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. It was published online in Obstetrics & Gynecology. LIMITATIONS: Fatalities temporally linked to pregnancy, such as homicide, suicide, or drug overdose, were often coded as external causes on death certificates and may have been excluded from the CDC pregnancy-related mortality classification. The surge in mortality during the COVID pandemic may have accentuated existing disparities. The cross-sectional analysis precluded causal inferences regarding relationships between maternity care access and maternal outcomes. The definition of maternity care practitioners did not include family physicians who might have provided obstetric services in rural areas. Additionally, the maternity care access measure did not capture the intra-county spatial distribution of services, potentially masking access barriers in geographically extensive or sparsely populated rural counties. DISCLOSURES: This study received support from the Eastern Virginia Medical School Junior Clinical Investigator Program. This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.
The Independent
12-06-2025
- Health
- The Independent
American deaths from this alcohol-linked disease have doubled in 20 years
Alcohol-related liver disease deaths in the U.S. have roughly doubled between 1999 and 2022, with a significant increase during and after the Covid -19 pandemic, according to a group of physicians. Mortality rates from alcohol-associated liver disease surged from 6.7 to 12.5 deaths per 100,000 people during the studied period, with a higher annual increase among women and concerning trends among young people. American Indian or Alaska Native populations experienced the highest death rates, increasing from approximately 25 to nearly 47 per 100,000 between 1999 and 2022. Mortality rates surged an annual average of 9 percent from 2018 to 2022, attributed to pandemic-related stressors like financial insecurity and social isolation, leading to increased drinking. The findings indicate an urgent need for enhanced screening, improved addiction treatment access, and targeted interventions for high-risk groups, doctors say.
