COPD Risk Factors and Rurality

Purpose

This analysis aims to compare the incidence of Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) related to risk factors and geographic characteristics such as obesity, smoking, uninsured, race, and rurality for each county and state.

From 2007-2017, rural death rates were higher than urban rates for the seven major causes of death analyzed, including congestive heart failure, stroke, cancer, diabetes, unintentional injury, suicide, and COPD (Yaemsiri et al., 2019). In 2017, COPD death rates were 45% higher in rural areas than in urban areas. In rural areas of the U.S., progress towards meeting national benchmarks for COPD death rates varied significantly by geographic region, whereby the Northeast and Midwest were improving while the South was getting worse and the West was unchanged (Yaemsiri et al., 2019).

Furthermore, cigarette smoking among adults residing in rural counties is higher than in urban counties, making tobacco use likely a leading cause of the difference in mortality between rural and urban areas (Dooga et a., 2017). Other risk factors related to COPD include exposure to air pollutants, aging, poverty, nutrition, and poor access to health care.

This data is also available as an Excel spreadsheet.

COPD Risk Factors 2022.xlsx (472.88 KB)

Tutorial Video
Data Sources
Defining The Columns

In this tutorial video, we look at COPD Risk Factors and Rurality. The video guides you through how to use Tableau data analysis to compare the risk factors and geographic characteristics such as obesity rates, smoking rates, uninsured rates, race, and rurality for each county and state.

COPD Risk Factors and Rurality Tutorial Video

CDC PLACES Data

(Data released December 2021)

County Health Ranking

(Data released 2022)

A blank entry indicates unreported data. A value of zero is a defined value and does not represent unreported data.

State: The abbreviation of the state.

County: The name of the county. County names are listed as provided on the US Census Bureau's list of 2020 FIPS Codes for Counties and County Equivalent Entities.

Geography: Based on the Core Based Statistical Areas include Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas.

Rural: areas that have a population of fewer than 10,000
Metropolitan: areas with at least one urbanized area of 50,000 or more population, plus adjacent territory with a high degree of social and economic integration with the core as measured by commuting ties.
Micropolitan: areas with at least one urban cluster of at least 10,000 but less than 50,000 population, plus adjacent territory with a high degree of social and economic integration with the core as measured by commuting ties.

Percent COPD: Percentage of respondents aged ≥18 years who report ever having been told by a doctor, nurse, or other health professionals that they had the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), emphysema, or chronic bronchitis. The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey provides the measure. Data is only provided for counties with more than 50 respondents to the BRFSS survey and is from 2019.

Percent Smoking: Percentage of respondents aged ≥18 years who have smoked ≥100 cigarettes in their lifetime and currently smoke every day or some days. The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey provides the measure. Data is only provided for counties with more than 50 respondents to the BRFSS survey and is from 2019.

Obesity Rate: Percentage of respondents aged ≥18 years with a body mass index (BMI) ≥30.0 kg/m² calculated from self-reported weight and height. The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey provides the measure. Data is only provided for counties with more than 50 respondents to the BRFSS survey and is from 2019.

Percent Uninsured: Percentage of people under age 65 without insurance. The reporting period for this measure is 2019 from the Small Area Health Insurance Estimates (SAHIE) program.

Percent Asian: The proportion of the county's population that falls into the racial or ethnic category of Asian from the US Census Bureau Population Estimates from 2020.

Percent Black: The proportion of the county's population that falls into the racial or ethnic category of Black from the US Census Bureau Population Estimates from 2020.

Percent Hispanic: The proportion of the county's population that falls into the racial or ethnic category of Hispanic from the US Census Bureau Population Estimates from 2020.

Percent Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander: The proportion of the county's population that falls into the racial or ethnic category of Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander from the US Census Bureau Population Estimates from 2020.

Percent Native American: The proportion of the county's population falling into the racial or ethnic category of Native American from the US Census Bureau Population Estimates from 2020.

Percent White: The proportion of the county's population that falls into the racial or ethnic category of White from the US Census Bureau Population Estimates from 2020.

Population Type: An indication of whether a county is predominantly metropolitan, micropolitan, or rural.