Morbidity and Mortality Rates, Essay Example

Morbidity describes the rate or odds of people acquiring an illness while mortality describes the rate or odds of dying from certain diseases or events (NYS Department of Health – Basic Statistics). I chose to study the morbidity and mortality rates of New York State and New York City because I was interested in seeing how these rates differ amongst urban and rural populations in the same geographic region. According to health.ny.gov, the age adjusted suicide mortality rate per 100,000 is a 7.2 age-adjusted rate for New York City residents while the age-adjusted rate is 6.6 for New York State residents; clearly New York City residents are at a greater risk for suicide then their suburban counterparts, although suicide rates can be considered high for the state as a whole (New York State Department of Health – Injury Mortality and Morbidity Indicators). Meanwhile, the motor vehicle mortality rate for New York City citizens is 3.5 after adjusting for age, while the motor vehicle mortality rate for New York State citizens is 7.7. The substantial difference between fatal motorist accidents between these two populations isn’t surprising; New Yorkers who live upstate are more likely to need a car to drive around and are therefore statistically more likely to encounter an accident.

Recreational drug use is more prevalent in New York City than New York State. NYC.gov reports that a frequent cause of mortality and morbidity in the city is the use and misuse of opioid analgesics. By borough, Staten Islanders are most likely to die from overdose of this drug; this rate doubled from 2005 to 2009 and is now 7.4/100,000 (NYC Department of Mental Health and Hygiene). Morbidity as a result of this type of drug use is also high; in a survey issued to New York adolescents between 2008 and 2009, 10% reported recreational opiod use. Opioid misuse is less of an issue in other parts of New York State. It was also found that Staten Islanders are the biggest abusers of prescription medications containing benzodiazepines, such as Xanax (Epi Data Brief). The morbidity rate of New York City benzodiazepine users has increased 111% between 2004 and 2010; in 2004, 38/100,000 people in the city were hospitalized for this reason while 78/100,000 were hospitalized in 2010 (Benzodiazepine misuse among adolescents?).

Works Cited

Benzodiazepine misuse among adolescents? n.d. Web. 4 Sept. 2013. <www.nyc.gov>

Epi Data Brief. Benzodiazepines in New York City, n.d. Web. 4 Sept. 2013. <www.nyc.gov>

NYC Department of Mental Health and Hygiene. Opiod Analgesics in New York City, n.d. Web.          4 Sept. 2013. <www.nyc.gov>

NYS Department of Health. Basic Statistics, n.d. Web. 4 Sept. 2013. <www.health.ny.gov>

NYS Department of Health. Injury Mortality and Morbidity Indicators – New York County,        2004-2006. Web. 4 Sept. 2013. <www.health.ny.gov>