Death Rates in Illinois: Top 10 Causes

Heart disease and cancer kill half of the 100,000 people (give or take a few thousand) who die in Illinois every year. But the state lags in dealing with these medical conditions.

We’re No. 31 in the nation when it comes to the rate at which people perish from the two blockbuster illnesses, according to data published recently by National Center for Health Statistics.

A bunch of Southern states, a few on the East Coast, and several Midwestern neighbors bring up the bottom.

The gap between below- and above-average performers isn’t trivial; it affects whether people live or die . In No. 1 ranked Minnesota, age-adjusted fatalities from heart disease were 141.5 per 100,000 people, compared with 214.3 in Illinois. For cancer, No. 1 ranked Utah’s death rate was 139.4; ours was 190.1.

Of course, how many people succumb to illness in any area depends on many factors, including consumers’ lifestyles and health habits, access to medical care, genetics, poverty, the environment, demographic trends, and more. Some of the spread between Illinois and top-rated states can be explained by these variables.

But there’s plenty of room for action. The things that make us vulnerable to illness—known as “risk factors”—can be mitigated if doctors focus on prevention, if people eat well and exercise, if public health programs are effective, and if good medical services are readily available, research shows.

To save lives, Illinois needs to make a concerted push to do better in all those areas, experts suggest.

Asked for a response, the Illinois Department of Public Health sent along a long list of programs.  With a few exceptions, there’s no information on what impact these programs have had  (is this being measured?) or where they’re available (what was the department thinking?).  You’ll find an abridged list at the end of this posting.

Back to the government’s “cause of death” data, I spotted a question that deserves some scrutiny: Why do Illinois patients die of septicemia, a frequently fatal blood infection, five times more often than those in California? (Illinois’ rate is 11th worst in the nation.)  Does anyone have an answer?

Looking at state-by-state rankings, Illinois would also do well to focus on kidney disease, which my colleague Deborah L. Shelton spotlighted recently in a front-page report. The state’s death rate is 13th highest in the country.

For those of you who like the raw numbers, here’s the top 10 causes of the 103,654 deaths in Illinois in 2005, the most recent year for which comprehensive data is available:

1. Heart disease: 28,226.

2. Cancer: 24,250.

3. Stroke: 6,252.

4. Chronic lower respiratory diseases: 5,067.

5. Accidents/unintentional injuries: 4,182.

6. Diabetes: 3,034.

7. Alzheimer’s disease: 2,827.

8. Influenza/pneumonia: 2,949.

9. Kidney disease: 2,402.

10. Septicemia: 1,943.

Grief - A Perspective

Grief is a bereaved person’s internal emotional response to the loss event. It has several components: physical, behavioral, emotional, mental, social, and spiritual. It is often described by those that have gone through it as a heaviness that isn’t easily lifted. It can sometimes be so pronounced that it affects a person’s physical self and can even mimic illnesses. While grief is an expected and normal response to loss, severe or prolonged grief can cause problems. So what's normal and what's not?

Normal Grief

Normal grief is found in the majority of survivors. It describes grief that is eventually lessened as a person readjusts to their loss. This is done with support as one moves through the four phases and the four tasks of the grief process. Grief is usually not something one “recovers” from because the loss is never regained or replaced. A grieving individual doesn’t return to the person they were before the loss; rather they usually describe their lives after loss as “different”. For some, it changes their entire identity and they will divide their lives into “before” the loss and “after” the loss.

The Four Phases of Grief

The stages of grief can be divided into four distinct phases:

1. Numbness – This is the phase immediately following a loss. The grieving person feels numb, which is a defense mechanism that allows them to survive emotionally.
2. Searching and Yearning – This can also be referred to as pining and is characterized by the grieving person longing or yearning for the deceased to return. Many emotions are expressed during this time and may include weeping, anger, anxiety, and confusion.
3. Disorganization and Despair – The grieving person now desired to withdraw and disengage from others and activities they regularly enjoyed. Feelings of pining and yearning become less intense while periods of apathy, meaning an absence of emotion, and despair increase.
4.  Reorganization and Recovery – In this final phase, the grieving person begins to return to a new state of “normal”. Weight loss experienced during intense grieving may be regained, energy levels increase, and an interest to return to activities of enjoyment returns. Grief never ends but thoughts of sadness and despair are diminished while positive memories of the deceased take over.

Because everyone grieves in their own way at their own pace, there is no timeline that these phases are supposed to be completed in. Receiving bereavement counseling and joining bereavement support groups can help the grieving individual move through the phases fluidly. 

Mexican Burial Customs

In Mexico, people are buried in coffins in the ground. The Mexicans also have a holiday that is similar to Halloween, and it is called the Day of the Dead. However, the Day of the Dead is not only one day, but many. It lasts from mid-October through the first week of November. Day of the Dead is celebrated like Halloween, and the people welcome the spirits of the dead with open arms, for this is the holiday in which the spirits can pay a visit to home. 
 

To prepare for this visit, many households start off by setting up an alter, and decorating it with flowers, candles, candy, food, drink and more. Naturally, when the spirit visits, it has to wash up before it eats, so a hand basin and wash towel is included. Day of the Dead is a holiday that many people enjoy and value annually.

Hawaiian Burial Customs

In Hawaii, death is not something to take lightly. The death of a king, queen or high chief is no exception. In fact, the death of a king, queen or high chief is a great time of mourning to the people. The people who knew the people the most are the people who mourn the greatest. They weep, mourn, cut their hair, knock out teeth, scar their skin, and sometimes even cut off one of their ears. William Ellis, a reverend in the 1800s, saw a queen in great pain while having her tongue tattooed with a black line after her husband died. When he asked her about it, she said that it hurt, but the pain of her grief was greater than that could ever be.

It was believed that the iwi, or bones held great power, and benefited whoever possessed them. The skull, leg, and occasionally arm bones were especially hidden, guarded and preserved. 

Burial caves are found all over Hawaii, with men, women and small children buried in the sand dunes. Many caves however, had already been found and raided.  

After the 1990s, which is when President Bush created and signed the Native American Grave Protection, which protects Native American burial sites. That group is called the Hui Malama. The Hui Malama transports bones under the cover of night, and utmost secrecy. When someone important dies, their grave is surrounded with either rocks or high poles. Common people were buried in natural tombs, like caves or hollows. 

Interesting Funeral Facts Part 1

Flowers placed at the grave were originally brought to promote good will with the spirit of the deceased.

The tradition of playing loud music at an Irish wake originated with the belief that it would ward off evil spirits. The wake also presented an opportunity to watch over the deceased to see if he/she would awaken.

Approximately 6,400 burials are conducted annually at Arlington National Cemetery, which is an average of about 28 burials are performed each day.

Interesting Funeral Facts Part 2

A properly folded military flag shows 4 stars, one each to represent the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines.

Taberger’s safety coffin was developed in 1829. It included a bell to ring that would alert the graveyard workers if they were being buried alive.

Prior to the 20th century, some European families would hire professional mourners to either look sad or wail.

Elephants and chimpanzees both have been known to bury their dead, by throwing leaves and branches over the deceased members of their families.

An odd spot to have a cemetery, an apartment building’s parking lot in Hattiesburg, Mississippi has a small cemetery.