Killing ourselves slowly: The impact of behaviorally-linked mortality on population health

The goal of this study was to examine the impact of behaviorally-linked causes of death upon life expectancy in the United States to underscore the importance of developing behavioral modification interventions and health education messages. A Markov chain model of 2002 NCHS Mortality data was created. The change in life expectancy that would occur if the following causes of death were eliminated was determined: heart attack, stroke, diabetes, suicide, homicide, HIV/AIDS, lung cancer, and COPD. The causes of death that, if eliminated, would bring the largest increase to life expectancy were: for white men - heart disease (4.54 years - Northeast), lung cancer (1.10 years - South), stroke (0.67 years - West), COPD (0.56 years - West), and suicide (0.50 years - West). For white women: heart disease (4.45 years - Northeast), stroke (1.03 years - West), lung cancer (0.82 years - South), COPD (0.63 years - West), and breast cancer (0.52 years - Northeast). For black men: heart disease (5.37 years - Northeast), homicide (1.32 years - Midwest), lung cancer (1.05 years - Midwest), HIV/AIDS (0.82 years - Northeast), and stroke (0.80 years - West). For black women: heart disease (6.39 years - Northeast), stroke (1.22 years - West), diabetes (0.80 years - South), lung cancer (0.78 years - Midwest), and breast cancer (0.62 years - Northeast). With the exception of breast cancer, each of the top five causes of death impacting life expectancy has a strong behavioral connection, underscoring the need for behavioral interventions.