Eastern Washington Health Profile

Eastern Washington at a Glance

The total population of Eastern Washington and Washington State were, respectively, 1,538,239 and 6,985,464 in 2015 (U.S. Bureau of the Census).

AGE

In 2017, approximately one-third (28%) of residents were under the age of 20. More than half (57%) were between 20 and 64 years of age, and 15% were 65 or older.

RACE

The majority of residents was Non-Hispanic White. The second largest ethnic group was Hispanics, comprising approximately 22% of the population. Eight percent of the population was of other races.

EDUCATION

Approximately 60% of residents, ages 25 and over, attained education beyond high school, with 34% earning a college degree. Twenty-seven percent (27%) of residents reported a high school diploma (or the equivalent) as their highest level of educational attainment. Fewer than 15% of residents reported they had not graduated from high school.

EMPLOYMENT

A large proportion (56%) of residents, ages 16 and over, were employed. Thirty-nine percent (39%) were not in the labor force. Five percent (5%) were unemployed.

POVERTY

Nearly 18% of the population lived below the poverty level. Forty percent of residents (40%) had incomes less than twice the poverty level.

STABILITY

Sixty-four percent (64%) of households owned their property. Approximately 84% of owner-households moved into their property in 2010 or earlier, while 36% of renter-households lived at the same property since 2010 or earlier.

RURAL POPULATION

According to rural urban commuting area (RUCA) codes, 71% of residents lived in metropolitan areas. Fourteen percent of residents (14%) lived in micropolitan or large towns. Individuals living in small towns and rural areas constituted 15% of the population.

PATHS TO DISPARITY

			Rural Urban (RUCA)			Socioeconomic Status(Singh Index)
U.S. Rate - Rank	Cause of death	ICD–10	Rural Rate	p-value	Significant	More Deprived	p-value	Significant
	All Causes of Deaths	ALL	Lower	0.052	No	Higher	<0.001	Yes
2	Cancer	C00–C97	Lower	0.01	Yes	Higher	<0.001	Yes
1	Heart Disease	I00–I09,I11,I13,I20–I51	Lower	0.783	No	Higher	<0.001	Yes
6	Alzheimer’s disease	G30	Lower	<0.001	Yes	Lower	0.645	No
4	Unintentional Injuries	V01–X59,Y85–Y86	Higher	0.022	Yes	Higher	<0.001	Yes
3	Chronic Lower Respiratory Diseases	J40–J47	Higher	0.407	No	Higher	<0.001	Yes
5	Cerebrovascular diseases(Stroke)	I60–I69	Higher	0.918	No	Higher	<0.001	Yes
7	Diabetes	E10–E14	Lower	0.249	No	Higher	<0.001	Yes
8	Suicide	U03,X60–X84,Y87.0	Higher	0.005	Yes	Higher	<0.001	Yes
9	Chronic liver disease and cirrhosis	K70,K73–K74	Lower	0.732	No	Higher	<0.001	Yes
10	Flu - Pneumonia	J09–J18	Lower	0.865	No	Higher	<0.001	Yes
-	Overdose	X40–X44, X60–X64, X85, Y10–Y14	Lower	0.009	Yes	Higher	<0.001	Yes

*RUCA = RUCA (rural-urban commuting area) codes use United States census tracts to classify and rural urban differences using measures of population density, urbanization, and daily commuting. RUCA primary codes of 1-3 was classified as metropolitan areas, and RUCA primary codes of 4-10 (micropolitan, small town, and rural areas) was classified as Rural areas.

*Singh Index= Area Deprivation Index (ADI) developed by Dr. Gopal Singh, representing socioeconomic status using 17 different census markers at the level of census tract. ADI was dichotomized into least-deprived to most-deprived areas based on median ADI value.

*Statistical analysis - Independent samples t-test

*P-Value significant at <0.05

SUMMARY

For the top 10 major causes of death, mortality rates in Eastern Washington are consistently higher when compared to Western Washington.

Age-adjusted mortality rates (per 100,000), both sexes, 2011-2015

Disease	Eastern WA	Western WA	WA	United States
All-causes	716.17	659.79	672.17	733.1
Cancer	158.98*	155.96	156.58	158.50
Heart Disease	146.93	134.50	137.23	168.50
Alzheimer’s disease	44.76*	43.45*	43.75	29.40
Unintentional Injuries	45.18*	35.58	37.71	43.20
Chronic Lower Respiratory Diseases	46.65*	37.85	39.82	41.6o
Cerebrovascular diseases(Stroke)	37.57	33.40	34.36	37.60
Diabetes	24.53*	20.78	21.61	21.30
Suicide	15.27*	13.98*	14.24	13.30
Chronic liver disease and cirrhosis	13.44*	10.37	11.02	10.80
Flu - Pneumonia	10.97	9.60	9.91	17.80
Overdose	12.40	13.35	13.14	16.30

*Represents rates higher than the national average

CONCLUSION

Eastern Washington had higher age-adjusted mortality rates for the 10 leading causes of deaths than western Washington. Age-adjusted mortality rates for 6 out of the 10 leading causes of death (i.e., Alzheimer’s disease, unintentional injuries, chronic lower respiratory diseases, diabetes, suicide, and chronic liver disease and cirrhosis) were higher in eastern Washington when compared to the United States average rates. Considering that some deaths such as unintentional injuries, chronic lower respiratory diseases, and diabetes can be potentially prevented, efforts should address demographic, socio-economic, and environmental factors that influence mortality rates.

In eastern Washington, nearly 18% of the population lived below the poverty level, while 12% lived below the poverty level in western Washingtonians. Additionally, individuals living in small towns and rural areas constituted 15% of the population in eastern Washington, while only 2% of the population of western Washington lived in small towns and rural areas. Future studies can assess how poverty, rurality, and access to care impact higher rates of mortality in eastern Washington.

METHODOLOGY

Age-adjusted adjusted mortality rates were computed using the standard population age distribution of the population of the United States for the year 2000
Registered deaths for the state were obtained from the Washington State Department of Health, Center for Health Statistics for the years 2011-2015
Deaths with residential address matching accuracy of 80% or above were included in the analyses

Do you have questions about the report or would you like to have access to the data? email us at: ofer.amram@wsu.edu

Eastern Washington Health Profile - JANUARY 2019

Table of Contents

Eastern Washington at a Glance