2009 to 2019 Saw Increase in Avoidable Mortality in United States

WEDNESDAY, March 26, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Avoidable mortality is increasing in the United States and decreasing in comparator countries, according to a study published online March 24 in JAMA Internal Medicine.

Irene Papanicolas, Ph.D., from the Brown University School of Public Health in Providence, Rhode Island, and colleagues compared trends in avoidable mortality for decedents aged 0 to 74 years across 50 U.S. states and Washington D.C., and 40 high-income countries in the European Union (EU) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) between 2009 and 2021.

The researchers found an increase in total avoidable mortality in all U.S. states between 2009 and 2019, while decreases were seen in most comparator countries (median, 29.0 versus −14.4 deaths per 100,000 people). Variation in avoidable mortality widened across U.S. states (median, 251.1 and 282.8 in 2009 and 2019, respectively), while a narrowing was seen in comparator countries (median, 201.5 and 187.1, respectively). Avoidable mortality increased for all U.S. states and comparator countries during the COVID-19 pandemic (2019 to 2021; median, 101.5 and 25.8, respectively). States and countries with the highest baseline avoidable mortality experienced the greatest increase in avoidable deaths during the COVID-19 period. A consistent, negative, and significant association was seen for health spending and avoidable mortality in comparator countries, but not in U.S states.

“The study reveals an increase in avoidable deaths — including both treatable and preventable deaths — and across most causes of illness throughout the U.S. before and during the COVID-19 pandemic,” the authors write. “This is in stark contrast to improving trends in EU and OECD countries.”

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