Diabetes Mortality Statistics: United States and Ohio

Exploring diabetes mortality data at the national, state, and local levels
Diabetes
Public Health
Authors

Ohio Alliance for Population Health

Shelby Level

Elizabeth Beverly, PhD

Richard Hodges

Published

January 24, 2024

Background

The OHIO Alliance for Population Health (OAPH) is a statewide collaborative focused on improving the health of all Ohioans by solving the most complex and pressing population health concerns across the state. In line with OAPH’s overarching mission, this report aims to identify disparities in diabetes mortality among Ohioans and consider how these disparities can be addressed to improve health and well-being across the state.

Key Findings

  • West Virginia had the highest diabetes mortality rate of any state in 2022 with 59.2 deaths per 100,000 population, 94.1% higher than the national average.

  • Ohio ranked 41st (out of 51 states, with rank 1 indicating the lowest rate) in diabetes mortality in 2022 with a reported rate of 36.2 deaths per 100,000 population, 18.7% higher than the national average.

  • Nevada saw the largest increase in diabetes mortality (63.2%) between 2013-2017 and 2018-2022.

  • Vermont is the only state that saw a decrease in diabetes deaths (-1.1%) between 2013-2017 and 2018-2022.

  • Coshocton County saw the largest increase in diabetes mortality in Ohio (159.3%) between 2013-2017 and 2018-2022.

  • There were 15 counties in Ohio that saw a decrease in diabetes mortality between 2013-2017 and 2018-2022., with Miami, Madison, Monroe, Meigs, and Licking Counties experiencing the highest reductions.

  • In 2018-2022 Southeast Ohio had the highest diabetes mortality rate in the state with 55.5 deaths per 100,000 population, 82% higher than the state average.

  • In 2018-2022 Central Ohio had the lowest diabetes death rate in the state with 27.1 deaths per 100,000 population, 11.1% lower than the state average.

  • In 2018-2022 Delaware County had the lowest diabetes death rate in Ohio and ranked 56th (out of 2,824) in diabetes mortality among all United States counties with a rate of 13.8 deaths per 100,000 population.

  • In 2018-2022 Vinton County had the highest diabetes death rate in Ohio and ranked 2,743rd (out of 2,824) in diabetes mortality among all United States counties with a rate of 88.3 deaths per 100,000 population.

Methodology

This report examines diabetes mellitus deaths across national, state, and local levels over an extended period of time.

CDC WONDER collects and maintains data regarding deaths and their causes. All data were extracted from CDC WONDER using provisional1 or final mortality data2.

All maps, graphs, and other figures for the United States and Ohio that are presented in this report were produced using R3, RStudio4, ggplot25, sf6 7, tidyverse8, and tidycensus9.

Discussion

Diabetes was the eight-leading cause of death in the United States last year (2022), killing more than 100,000 Americans. This chronic health condition is characterized by high blood sugar (hyperglycemia) and caused by reduced amounts of insulin produced by the pancreas or the body not responding properly to the effects of insulin10. Despite all forms of diabetes being manageable with lifestyle changes and/or medications, death rates continue to rise in the United States due to sedentary lifestyles, unhealthy diets, and an aging population11. In the past decade the United States saw a 27.6% increase in diabetes mortality with only one state, Vermont, seeing death rates fall during the past five years.

Similarly, Ohio experienced a roughly 18% increase in diabetes mortality over the past decade and ranked 41 out of 51 states in 2022 with a reported rate (36.2 deaths per 100,000 population) 19% higher than the national average. However, not all Ohioans are at equal risk of dying from diabetes. Nine out of ten counties with the highest mortality rates in Ohio are located in Appalachia, and residents of rural Appalachian counties are 1.7 times as likely to die from diabetes than their suburban counterparts.

Conclusion

Diabetes is a serious condition that can affect a person’s heart, blood vessels, nerves, eyes, and kidneys. It will be the next major epidemic we face as a society and we know that rates of diabetes are much higher in southeast Ohio than other parts of the state and country. Findings from this report draw attention to the disparities that rural Appalachians face on a daily basis and existing inequalities will only accelerate the diabetes crisis that ultimately influences health outcomes and mortality. Depicting diabetes deaths by subregions in Ohio emphasizes the critical need to facilitate collaborations on the local, regional, state, and national level to improve diabetes care and address barriers that contribute to these high mortality rates.

United States

Map 1: Diabetes Deaths by State, 2022

Figure 1: Diabetes Deaths by State, 2022

Map 2: Diabetes Deaths by State, 2018-2022

Map 3: Diabetes Deaths by State, 2013-2017

Figure 2: Diabetes Deaths by State, Percent Change from 2013-2017 to 2018-2022

Ohio

Map 4: Diabetes Deaths by County, 2018-2022

Figure 3: Diabetes Deaths by County, 2018-2022

Map 5: Diabetes Deaths by County, 2013-2017

Figure 4: Diabetes Deaths by County, Percent Change from 2013-2017 to 2018-2022

Map 6: Diabetes Deaths by Subregion, 2018-2022

Figure 5: Diabetes Deaths by County Type, 20182-2022

Tables

Table 1: Diabetes Deaths by State, 2022

Death rate per 100,000 population
State Deaths Population Death Rate State Rank
West Virginia 1,056 1,782,959 59.2 51
Arkansas 1,397 3,025,891 46.2 50
Maine 603 1,372,247 43.9 49
Mississippi 1,256 2,949,965 42.6 48
New Mexico 859 2,115,877 40.6 47
Oklahoma 1,586 3,986,639 39.8 46
Tennessee 2,722 6,975,218 39.0 45
South Dakota 339 895,376 37.9 44
Kentucky 1,668 4,509,394 37.0 43
Indiana 2,493 6,805,985 36.6 42
Ohio 4,267 11,780,017 36.2 41
Delaware 361 1,003,384 36.0 40
Louisiana 1,653 4,624,047 35.7 39
North Carolina 3,721 10,551,162 35.3 38
Florida 7,549 21,781,128 34.7 37
South Carolina 1,783 5,190,705 34.3 36
Oregon 1,456 4,246,155 34.3 35
Michigan 3,419 10,050,811 34.0 34
Arizona 2,423 7,276,316 33.3 33
Virginia 2,875 8,642,274 33.3 32
Kansas 963 2,934,582 32.8 31
New Hampshire 454 1,388,992 32.7 30
Alabama 1,645 5,039,877 32.6 29
Pennsylvania 4,124 12,964,056 31.8 28
Iowa 1,009 3,193,079 31.6 27
Wyoming 180 578,803 31.1 26
Missouri 1,878 6,168,187 30.4 25
North Dakota 234 774,948 30.2 24
Montana 329 1,104,271 29.8 23
California 11,615 39,237,836 29.6 22
Maryland 1,795 6,165,129 29.1 21
Nevada 898 3,143,991 28.6 20
Washington 2,198 7,738,692 28.4 19
Vermont 179 645,570 27.7 18
Nebraska 539 1,963,692 27.4 17
Illinois 3,463 12,671,469 27.3 16
Rhode Island 293 1,095,610 26.7 15
Texas 7,851 29,527,941 26.6 14
Minnesota 1,514 5,707,390 26.5 13
Wisconsin 1,489 5,895,908 25.3 12
Hawaii 363 1,441,553 25.2 11
Alaska 184 732,673 25.1 10
Georgia 2,691 10,799,566 24.9 9
Idaho 473 1,900,923 24.9 8
New York 4,786 19,835,913 24.1 7
Utah 763 3,337,975 22.9 6
New Jersey 2,099 9,267,130 22.6 5
Massachusetts 1,503 6,984,723 21.5 4
Colorado 1,214 5,812,069 20.9 3
Connecticut 746 3,605,597 20.7 2
District of Columbia 123 670,050 18.4 1

Table 2: Ohio Diabetes Deaths by County, 2018-2022

Death rate per 100,000 population / National rank out of 2,824 counties
State Deaths Population Death Rate Ohio Rank National Rank
Vinton 57 64,588 88.3 88 2,744
Tuscarawas 404 460,939 87.6 87 2,740
Jackson 120 162,312 73.9 86 2,646
Scioto 272 371,855 73.1 85 2,639
Belmont 242 332,141 72.9 84 2,633
Coshocton 127 182,914 69.4 83 2,596
Williams 124 183,493 67.6 82 2,560
Morgan 47 70,781 66.4 81 2,542
Harrison 49 74,182 66.1 80 2,537
Lawrence 187 293,310 63.8 79 2,507
Ross 239 383,799 62.3 78 2,470
Guernsey 119 193,250 61.6 77 2,453
Jefferson 195 325,609 59.9 76 2,419
Carroll 80 134,274 59.6 75 2,412
Washington 175 298,564 58.6 74 2,389
Shelby 140 241,508 58.0 73 2,371
Paulding 52 93,822 55.4 72 2,294
Crawford 114 207,890 54.8 71 2,278
Clark 367 673,527 54.5 70 2,268
Monroe 36 67,688 53.2 69 2,237
Columbiana 261 508,286 51.3 68 2,165
Sandusky 149 293,098 50.8 67 2,147
Marion 165 325,751 50.7 66 2,139
Meigs 57 112,789 50.5 65 2,130
Clinton 104 209,954 49.5 64 2,088
Pike 65 137,712 47.2 63 1,994
Mahoning 526 1,137,924 46.2 62 1,956
Noble 33 71,494 46.2 61 1,951
Fayette 66 143,582 46.0 60 1,940
Highland 99 216,231 45.8 59 1,934
Logan 104 228,426 45.5 58 1,917
Defiance 85 190,318 44.7 57 1,867
Trumbull 444 996,071 44.6 56 1,862
Adams 61 138,037 44.2 55 1,844
Wyandot 48 108,834 44.1 54 1,834
Hardin 68 155,556 43.7 53 1,818
Ashtabula 212 485,921 43.6 52 1,811
Brown 95 217,772 43.6 51 1,809
Ottawa 87 201,755 43.1 50 1,776
Preble 88 204,449 43.0 49 1,766
Putnam 73 169,931 43.0 48 1,761
Gallia 63 147,995 42.6 47 1,740
Hocking 59 140,938 41.9 46 1,698
Lucas 897 2,144,923 41.8 45 1,691
Henry 56 136,072 41.2 44 1,664
Van Wert 58 142,179 40.8 43 1,645
Hancock 153 376,432 40.6 42 1,635
Stark 755 1,859,620 40.6 41 1,632
Erie 151 372,304 40.6 40 1,630
Huron 118 291,483 40.5 39 1,626
Muskingum 170 431,234 39.4 38 1,573
Seneca 108 275,135 39.3 37 1,565
Auglaize 90 229,422 39.2 36 1,564
Darke 100 256,835 38.9 35 1,546
Wayne 226 580,791 38.9 34 1,541
Champaign 74 193,997 38.1 33 1,498
Montgomery 987 2,667,308 37.0 32 1,416
Ashland 98 265,223 37.0 31 1,411
Union 113 306,786 36.8 30 1,399
Fulton 77 211,191 36.5 29 1,373
Summit 980 2,697,063 36.3 28 1,363
Morrow 63 176,153 35.8 27 1,339
Knox 111 312,432 35.5 26 1,321
Richland 217 613,534 35.4 25 1,312
Licking 306 891,533 34.3 24 1,241
Portage 277 812,740 34.1 23 1,225
Allen 169 510,334 33.1 22 1,140
Lorain 511 1,562,656 32.7 21 1,114
Madison 72 222,475 32.4 20 1,097
Cuyahoga 2,000 6,205,586 32.2 19 1,085
Mercer 66 208,023 31.7 18 1,047
Fairfield 248 795,193 31.2 17 1,005
Wood 205 657,570 31.2 16 1,004
Lake 351 1,154,278 30.4 15 959
Pickaway 89 293,867 30.3 14 949
Athens 96 320,738 29.9 13 915
Hamilton 1,224 4,104,420 29.8 12 908
Clermont 287 1,038,627 27.6 11 747
Greene 225 843,878 26.7 10 677
Medina 236 905,988 26.0 9 638
Geauga 120 472,081 25.4 8 591
Butler 489 1,931,628 25.3 7 578
Holmes 51 220,398 23.1 6 434
Franklin 1,514 6,594,508 23.0 5 424
Miami 109 539,253 20.2 4 268
Warren 241 1,198,293 20.1 3 263
Perry 35 179,302 19.5 2 243
Delaware 147 1,069,037 13.8 1 57

Demographics

Table 3: Diabetes Deaths by Race, 2022

Death rates per 100,000 population
Race U.S. Death Rate Ohio Death Rate
American Indian/Alaska Native  30.1  N/A 
Asian  18.5  10.5 
Black/African American  40.3  42.0 
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander  35.8  N/A 
White  30.6  37.3 
More than one race  6.5  N/A 
Total  30.5  36.2 

Table 4: Diabetes Deaths by Hispanic Origin, 2022

Death rates per 100,000 population
Hispanic Origin U.S. Death Rate Ohio Death Rate
Hispanic/Latino  20.0  13.8 
Not Hispanic/Latino  32.8  37.2 
Total  30.5  36.2 
White  30.6  37.3 
More than one race  6.5  N/A 
Total  30.5  36.2 

Table 5: Diabetes Deaths by Sex, 2022

Death rates per 100,000 population
Sex U.S. Death Rate Ohio Death Rate
Female  26.0  31.4 
Male  35.0  41.2 
Total  30.5  36.2 

Table 6: Diabetes Deaths by Age, 2022

Death rates per 100,000 population
Ten Year Age Group U.S. Death Rate Ohio Death Rate
< 1 year  N/A  N/A 
1-4 years  N/A  N/A 
5-14 years  0.1  N/A 
15-24 years  0.8  1.0 
25-34 years  2.6  2.4 
35-44 years  6.6  6.6 
45-54 years  18.1  20.9 
55-64 years  40.6  46.4 
65-74 years  80.0  91.6 
75-84 years  162.7  189.6 
85+ years  311.6  345.6 
Total  30.5  36.2 

References

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Citation

BibTeX citation:
@online{alliance for population health__2024,
  author = {Alliance for Population Health\_\_, \_\_Ohio and Level,
    Shelby and Beverly, PhD, Elizabeth and Hodges, Richard},
  title = {Diabetes {Mortality} {Statistics:} {United} {States} and
    {Ohio}},
  date = {2024-01-24},
  url = {https://shelbylevel.org/myprojects/diabetes-report},
  langid = {en}
}
For attribution, please cite this work as:
1. Alliance for Population Health__, __Ohio., Level, S., Beverly, PhD, E., & Hodges, R. (2024, January 24). Diabetes Mortality Statistics: United States and Ohio. https://shelbylevel.org/myprojects/diabetes-report