In prior issues of HEALTH Magazine, we’ve examined the root causes of disease, both locally and nationwide. It’s helpful to know what drives unhealthy conditions in order to improve health and wellness.
This article introduces the leading causes of death in our communities, and upcoming issues will include articles helping us to understand what is contributing to these deaths and ways that we can reduce the risk of the conditions behind them. Some of these causes of death are linked with chronic illnesses, while others, such as accidents and suicides, are sudden but still preventable.
We’ll also compare our communities with the rest of Utah and the nation to help us understand risks that are unique to this area. We often find that we are doing well with preventable diseases that are prevalent elsewhere but much less common here. However, there are some diseases that are more common here than they should be, and any cause of death should give us pause to consider how we can do better.
As part of our annual report (see page 28), we identify the top 13 causes of death in our area. If you were to look at a similar ranking from the year 1900, you would notice that individual infectious diseases would account for about 75% of the leading causes of death. Pneumonia, tuberculosis, and diarrhea were the top three, accounting for about one-third of deaths annually. Diphtheria, pertussis, and measles were very common causes of mortality, particularly in the young. Life expectancy at the time was averaged at 45 years old, primarily because so many children died from childhood illness.
Today, the top causes of death are largely related to chronic diseases. Heart disease, cancer, stroke, and chronic respiratory illness account for a large portion of those. Fortunately, deaths from some of these conditions have decreased steadily over the past several decades. Fatalities from cardiovascular disease, for example, have declined by about thirty percent. Still, two-thirds of men and half of all women will develop heart disease in their lifetime. In most of the country, heart disease is the leading cause of death. In our area, we have lower risks of both heart disease and cancer than the rest of the nation, but cancer has overtaken heart disease as the number one cause of death overall.
Liver diseases and conditions related to alcohol consumption are much more common in the rest of the country, but they barely make it onto our list. Accidental deaths and suicides occur at higher rates in our area compared to the national average.
The official top causes of death in Southwest Utah (Washington, Iron, Kane, Beaver, and Garfield counties), in descending order, are:
Malignant Neoplasms (Cancer): Cancer includes many diseases that affect nearly every part of the body. We have made dramatic improvements against some cancers while others remain difficult to treat.
Cardiovascular Disease
(Heart Disease): This includes a range of conditions from hypertension (high blood pressure) to myocardial infarction (heart attacks). While deaths from these conditions have decreased recently, rates of heart disease remain high.
Alzheimer’s Disease: Southwest Utah has a higher proportion of older adults than the rest of the state. Mild winter weather attracts many seniors to make their home here, which means we will see more age-related health conditions. Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia are higher on our list than other parts of the state, and, unfortunately, overall rates of Alzheimer’s continue to increase nationwide.
Unintentional injuries
(accidents): Deaths from unintentional injury are the leading cause of death in younger age groups. Whether it is a motor vehicle accident, fall, or work-related injury, there is much that can be done to help prevent these deaths.
Cerebrovascular Diseases (such as strokes or brain aneurysms): This is another area where higher rates due to increasing age are expected.
Chronic Lower Respiratory
Diseases: This class of disease includes Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), where smoking is a primary culprit.
Diabetes Mellitus: Rates of diabetes continue to increase and is a cause for concern, which is why we address type 2 diabetes and prediabetes frequently in HEALTH Magazine (see page 30). Thankfully, it is largely preventable.
Intentional Self Harm (Suicide): It is unfortunate that this category appears on this list. Rates of suicide remain higher in Utah and our area than the US average.
Septicemia: These are infections that make it into the bloodstream, making them difficult to treat. For most of the country this is not among the top causes of death.
Kidney Diseases (Nephritis, Nephrosis, Nephrotic syndrome): Kidney diseases can have many causes and are more common than many realize. It is the tenth most common cause of death in our area.
Influenza and Pneumonia: Influenza (flu) lost its title as the deadliest infectious disease killer to COVID-19 for a year or two, but it re-took the title in 2023. Most vulnerable are the elderly and the very young.
Chronic Liver Disease and Cirrhosis: Alcohol related illnesses such as cirrhosis are much more common in the rest of the country, often representing the fourth most common cause of death. Gratefully, it is much less common here.
COVID-19: COVID will continue to circulate as part of the upper-respiratory tract infections we see during cold and flu season.
As we explore each of these leading causes of death in future articles, we hope to enlighten and educate you on what actions can be taken to reduce your risks and live a longer, healthier life.
This article originally appeared in the Spring 2025 issue of HEALTH Magazine.