A Closer Look at Nashville TN - Research Paper Example

A Closer Look at Nashville TN A Closer Look at Nashville TN According to the CDC’s statistics, coronary heart disease is the leading cause of death in Nashville. Cancer was ranked as the second leading cause of death followed by lung disease at number three. The number four and five positions are held by Accidents and stroke respectively (World Life Expectancy, 2015). These records mirror the country’s National records in 2015, where heart disease is also identified as the leading cause of death.

Approximately 611,105 deaths in the country were caused by heart disease, with cancer also ranking at number two with 584,881 deaths in the same year. Stroke ranks at number five nationally with 128,978 recorded deaths (CDC, 2015). In 2012, the State records identified heart disease as the leading killer at a rate of 221 per 100,000 of the population. The age-adjusted rate of heart disease per 100,000 populations was 204.3 (TDH, 2012). Heart Disease is a prevalent threat to a majority of people around the world.

According to WHO in 2012, Ischemic heart disease, stroke, lower respiratory infections and chronic obstructive lung disease are the leading causes of death in the world (WHO, 2012). Similar to Nashville records, heart disease and stroke are a major threat causing approximately 7.4 million and 6.7 million deaths respectively in 2012. These staggering records are a clear indication of the threats posed by heart disease and stroke not only in the community but also around the world. Tennessee infant mortality rate per 1000 live births was 7.

4 (TDH, 2011). This was a significant drop by 22% compared to 2003. Based on the 2011 records, the number of white infant deaths was 361 with a mortality rate of 6.0, whereas, the number of black infant deaths was 211 with a rate of 12.8 per live births (TDH, 2011). The leading causes of infant death in the state were birth defects, preterm birth and low birth-weight and accidents (Bauer, 2014). The accidental deaths were majorly owing to strangulation and suffocation that tended to occur in bed.

The 5th leading cause of death in infants is the Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (Bauer, 2014). There are some identifiable risk factors contributing to the prevalence of the top five diseases. Environmental factors such as air pollution contribute to the prevalence of heart disease, cancer and lung disease. Other risk factors include smoking, obesity, physical inactivity and a poor diet (TDH, 2011). The risk factors identified in Tennessee are similar to national and local records. Since 2005-2013, smoking in the country remained fairly stable at 25% among adults with a 15.

7% decline among the youths (Johnson et al., 2015). Obesity also remained fairly stable at 35% in adults and 17% in youths. Similarly, also obesity ranks high in Tennessee across all ethnic groups and ages. A number of epidemiological methods are used in the gathering of data. For example, the morbidity survey that focuses on the collection of morbidity data of both the sick and the well. Also, researchers conduct a retrospective cohort study that involves gathering data from participants and dividing the results based on groups.

Resultantly, the incidence of the disease is compared to the prevalence (Bailey & Handu, 2012). Behavioral and environmental factors are the leading causes of illness in the community, for example, tobacco use, lack of exercise and poor eating habits. The leading causes of illness in the community are similar to the national and state records that prove that there is need to educate the masses on the importance of exercise and to adopt a healthy lifestyle. Environmental issues such as pollution are a national and global concern demanding the cooperation of key players in the field of sustainable development.

References Bailey, S., & Handu, D. (2012). Introduction to epidemiologic research methods in public health practice. Jones & Bartlett Publishers Bauer, A. M. (2014). Infant mortality in Tennessee, 2003‐2012. Surveillance, epidemiology and evaluation. Tennessee Department of Health, Nashville, TN CDC.gov (2015). Number of deaths for leading causes of death. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov Johnson, N. B., Hayes, L.D., Brown, K., Hoo, E. C., & Ethier, K. (2014). CDC National Health Report: Leading causes of morbidity and mortality and associated behavioral risk and protective factors—United States, 2005–2013.

Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report October 31, 2014 / 63(04); 3-27. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov TDH (Tennessee Department of Health) (2013). Tennessee deaths 2011. Retrieved from http://www.health.state.tn.us/ World Life Expectancy (2015). Tennessee causes of death by age and gender. Retrieved from http://www.worldlifeexpectancy.com