Predictors of county-level diabetes-related mortality risks in Florida, USA: a retrospective ecological study

Background Diabetes is an increasingly important public health problem due to its socioeconomic impact, high morbidity, and mortality. Although there is evidence of increasing diabetes-related deaths over the last ten years, little is known about the population level predictors of diabetes-related m...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Nirmalendu Deb Nath, Agricola Odoi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: PeerJ Inc. 2025-01-01
Series:PeerJ
Subjects:
Online Access:https://peerj.com/articles/18537.pdf
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1832595602035179520
author Nirmalendu Deb Nath
Agricola Odoi
author_facet Nirmalendu Deb Nath
Agricola Odoi
author_sort Nirmalendu Deb Nath
collection DOAJ
description Background Diabetes is an increasingly important public health problem due to its socioeconomic impact, high morbidity, and mortality. Although there is evidence of increasing diabetes-related deaths over the last ten years, little is known about the population level predictors of diabetes-related mortality risks (DRMR) in Florida. Identifying these predictors is important for guiding control programs geared at reducing the diabetes burden and improving population health. Therefore, the objective of this study was to identify geographic disparities and predictors of county-level DRMR in Florida. Methods The 2019 mortality data for the state of Florida were obtained from the Florida Department of Health. The 10th International Classification of Disease codes E10-E14 were used to identify diabetes-related deaths which were then aggregated to the county-level. County-level DRMR were computed and presented as number of deaths per 100,000 persons. Geographic distribution of DRMR were displayed in choropleth maps and ordinary least squares (OLS) regression model was used to identify county-level predictors of DRMR. Results There was a total 6,078 diabetes-related deaths in Florida during the study time period. County-level DRMR ranged from 9.6 to 75.6 per 100,000 persons. High mortality risks were observed in the northern, central, and southcentral parts of the state. Relatively higher mortality risks were identified in rural counties compared to their urban counterparts. Significantly high county-level DRMR were observed in counties with high percentages of the population that were: 65 year and older (p < 0.001), current smokers (p = 0.032), and insufficiently physically active (p = 0.036). Additionally, percentage of households without vehicles (p = 0.022) and percentage of population with diabetes (p < 0.001) were significant predictors of DRMR. Conclusion Geographic disparities of DRMR exist in Florida, with high risks being observed in northern, central, and southcentral counties of the state. The study identified county-level predictors of these identified DRMR disparities in Florida. The findings are useful in guiding health professionals to better target intervention efforts.
format Article
id doaj-art-340a850939534f3c8b7821e2994ad091
institution Kabale University
issn 2167-8359
language English
publishDate 2025-01-01
publisher PeerJ Inc.
record_format Article
series PeerJ
spelling doaj-art-340a850939534f3c8b7821e2994ad0912025-01-18T15:05:10ZengPeerJ Inc.PeerJ2167-83592025-01-0113e1853710.7717/peerj.18537Predictors of county-level diabetes-related mortality risks in Florida, USA: a retrospective ecological studyNirmalendu Deb Nath0Agricola Odoi1Biomedical and Diagnostic Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, United States of AmericaBiomedical and Diagnostic Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, United States of AmericaBackground Diabetes is an increasingly important public health problem due to its socioeconomic impact, high morbidity, and mortality. Although there is evidence of increasing diabetes-related deaths over the last ten years, little is known about the population level predictors of diabetes-related mortality risks (DRMR) in Florida. Identifying these predictors is important for guiding control programs geared at reducing the diabetes burden and improving population health. Therefore, the objective of this study was to identify geographic disparities and predictors of county-level DRMR in Florida. Methods The 2019 mortality data for the state of Florida were obtained from the Florida Department of Health. The 10th International Classification of Disease codes E10-E14 were used to identify diabetes-related deaths which were then aggregated to the county-level. County-level DRMR were computed and presented as number of deaths per 100,000 persons. Geographic distribution of DRMR were displayed in choropleth maps and ordinary least squares (OLS) regression model was used to identify county-level predictors of DRMR. Results There was a total 6,078 diabetes-related deaths in Florida during the study time period. County-level DRMR ranged from 9.6 to 75.6 per 100,000 persons. High mortality risks were observed in the northern, central, and southcentral parts of the state. Relatively higher mortality risks were identified in rural counties compared to their urban counterparts. Significantly high county-level DRMR were observed in counties with high percentages of the population that were: 65 year and older (p < 0.001), current smokers (p = 0.032), and insufficiently physically active (p = 0.036). Additionally, percentage of households without vehicles (p = 0.022) and percentage of population with diabetes (p < 0.001) were significant predictors of DRMR. Conclusion Geographic disparities of DRMR exist in Florida, with high risks being observed in northern, central, and southcentral counties of the state. The study identified county-level predictors of these identified DRMR disparities in Florida. The findings are useful in guiding health professionals to better target intervention efforts.https://peerj.com/articles/18537.pdfDiabetesPredictorRisk factorMortality riskMortality rateEcological study
spellingShingle Nirmalendu Deb Nath
Agricola Odoi
Predictors of county-level diabetes-related mortality risks in Florida, USA: a retrospective ecological study
PeerJ
Diabetes
Predictor
Risk factor
Mortality risk
Mortality rate
Ecological study
title Predictors of county-level diabetes-related mortality risks in Florida, USA: a retrospective ecological study
title_full Predictors of county-level diabetes-related mortality risks in Florida, USA: a retrospective ecological study
title_fullStr Predictors of county-level diabetes-related mortality risks in Florida, USA: a retrospective ecological study
title_full_unstemmed Predictors of county-level diabetes-related mortality risks in Florida, USA: a retrospective ecological study
title_short Predictors of county-level diabetes-related mortality risks in Florida, USA: a retrospective ecological study
title_sort predictors of county level diabetes related mortality risks in florida usa a retrospective ecological study
topic Diabetes
Predictor
Risk factor
Mortality risk
Mortality rate
Ecological study
url https://peerj.com/articles/18537.pdf
work_keys_str_mv AT nirmalendudebnath predictorsofcountyleveldiabetesrelatedmortalityrisksinfloridausaaretrospectiveecologicalstudy
AT agricolaodoi predictorsofcountyleveldiabetesrelatedmortalityrisksinfloridausaaretrospectiveecologicalstudy