Death Becomes Us
New maps detail how Texans are most likely going to die
There is a great line in Arrested Development where Lucille Bluth says, "I'd rather be dead in California than alive in Arizona." Here in Texas, it's safe to say that we'd rather be dead in Texas than alive, well, anywhere else. But just what are the most common causes of death in the Lone Star State?
Slate unveiled new maps this week detailing the most common causes of death in all 50 states using data from the Center for Disease Control. (Though the data is from 2008, author Ben Blatt notes that nothing has been added since that report.) Morbid? Absolutely. Interesting? Oh, yes.
In the United States, the two most common causes of death are cancer and heart disease. So what are we most likely to die from in Texas? That would be heart disease. And if you don't succumb to cancer or heart disease, stroke is the third most likely culprit.
According to the CDC, in addition to cancer, heart disease and stroke, the top 10 most common causes of death in the U.S. include respiratory diseases, accidents, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, influenza and pneumonia, kidney diseases, and septicemia.
With a national median age of 78.7 years, Texans are more likely to die younger than in other states, coming in at No. 16 out of the 50 states (the District of Columbia was not counted) on the countrywide mortality index. Still, Texans will likely fare far better than the No. 1 state: Mississippi. The Magnolia State came in No. 1 for diabetes, No. 4 for cancer and No. 2 for kidney disease, giving it the number on the mortality index.
So where can you expect to live the longest? Claiming the No. 50 spot is Hawaii, proving that island life really is the way to go.
