Leading Causes of Premature Mortality by Race/Ethnicity

This chart shows the top 5 causes of premature death for residents of the Finger Lakes Region by race/ethnicity. While the top causes are generally similar across race/ethnicity groups, the years of potential life lost rates are generally much higher for Black non-Latino residents. Drug overdose, heart disease, COVID-19, and cancer appeared in all 3 groups but had significantly higher rates for Black non-Latino residents. Homicide only appeared in the top 5 for Latinos and Black non-Latinos, with it being the 2nd leading cause of premature mortality for Black non-Latinos with a rate almost 4 times higher than Latinos. 

Methodology note: Years of potential life lost (YPLL) is a widely used measure to assess the rate of premature mortality. YPLL places a larger weight on the deaths of younger people, in contrast with overall mortality statistics which are dominated by deaths of the elderly. The YPLL rates in Common Ground Health analyses are derived using 75 years as the baseline. A death at age 65 has YPLL of 10, where as a death at age 35 has a YPLL of 40. The rates are calculated per 100,000 population and are age-sex adjusted to account for differences in population distribution.