Disparities in years of potential life lost among racial and ethnic groups in Washington state

Background The disproportionate mortality burden racial and ethnic groups endure compared to their non-Hispanic white (NHW) counterparts is a widely known public health issue in the United States. Methods We examined disparities in premature mortality through a measure of years of potential life lost (YPLL) among racial and ethnic groups after accounting for individual and place-based risk factors. Data were nearly 400,000 geocoded death records from Washington state mortality records from 2011 to 2018. Decedent records included information on marital status and educational attainment at time of death. We linked these records to census tract indicators of rurality and area deprivation based on residential longitude and latitude coordinates at time of death. We conducted censored Poisson regression to test adjusted associations between racial and ethnic identity and YPLL. Results Relative to non-Hispanic whites, non-Hispanic blacks, American Indian and Alaska Natives, Asian or other Pacific Islanders, multiracial, and Hispanic decedents had significantly higher rates of YPLL. Controlling for sociodemographic factors reduced but did not eliminate the disparities in YPLL between non-Hispanic whites and other racial and ethnic groups. Controlling for place-based risk factors did not further attenuate differences. Conclusions Racial and ethnic minorities suffer disproportionately from premature mortality. Researchers and policy makers must recognize the disproportionate risks to premature mortality and work together to alleviate them through the delivery of better and more accessible targeted services.