Death Rates

Comparing death rates over time provides one measure of health status. In the past 10 years, L.A. County has successfully decreased death rates among the leading causes, with two notable exceptions. First, the increase in deaths due to Alzheimer’s disease may be related to increased recognition and inclusion of the diagnosis in death certificates, or to the demographic shift due to an aging population. Second, the increasing rate diabetes deaths may be attributed to the growing Latino population, who has a higher incidence of the disease, and the increase in obesity, which is directly linked to the incidence of diabetes.