A new chronic disease report from Austin Public Health reveals racial disparities in mortality rates for conditions like diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. The study analyzed CDC data from 2011 to 2020, showing Austin had a lower disease burden than Texas and the U.S. overall.
"These trends are very stable over the years," said Heather Cooks-Sinclair, epidemiologist for chronic disease at Austin Public Health. However, she noted rising rates of diabetes and obesity. The data will help target at-risk communities. "Until you see the data, you don't know where the pockets of people affected are," she added.
Key findings include:
- Over 20% of African-American adults in Travis County smoke.
- One-fourth of all adults have hypertension.
"With this data, teams across our department are better equipped to reach those in need," said Chief Epidemiologist Janet Pichette. The report comes as Austin Public Health faces federal funding cuts, leading to 95 layoffs.
Leading Causes of Death (2011-2020, 55,196 deaths in Travis County)
- 21% cancer
- 18.8% heart disease
- 8.8% accidents
- 5% strokes
- 3.8% chronic lower respiratory diseases
- 3.7% Alzheimer's disease
- 2.6% suicide
- 2.4% diabetes
- 2.1% chronic liver disease or cirrhosis
Racial Disparities
- Cancer: African Americans die at twice the rate of Asian/Pacific Islanders, with higher rates of lung, breast, and colorectal cancers.
- Heart disease: African Americans have four times the mortality rate of Asian Americans and double that of Hispanics.
- Hypertension: 41% of African Americans report high blood pressure vs. 30% of non-Hispanic whites and 18% of Hispanics.
- Diabetes: African Americans have the highest death rates, followed closely by Hispanics.
- Alzheimer's: Hispanics have nearly double the rate of African Americans and non-Hispanic whites.
- Chronic liver disease: Hispanics die at twice the rate of African Americans.
- Respiratory diseases: Non-Hispanic whites have a 33% higher rate than African Americans.
Gender Disparities
- Men have a 26% higher cancer death rate and 57% higher heart disease death rate than women.
- Women account for 70% of Alzheimer's deaths.
- Men face twice the risk of chronic liver disease death.
Obesity & Smoking
- 64% of Travis County adults are overweight or obese, with higher rates among African Americans (75%) and Hispanics (68%).
- Smoking has declined to 7% overall, but 20% of African American adults smoke—more than double other groups.
Progress
- Lung cancer rates fell 39%, breast cancer 24%.
- Travis County met most Healthy People 2030 targets, except for colorectal cancer.