Philip Cohen explains the impact of migration on rising mortality rates
Unlike Soviet Russia, where massive job loss triggered an increase in mortality, the causes of recent increases in mortality in the U.S. are more varied and geographically diverse. While a rise in cardiovascular disease seems to be a more common determinant in the South, substance abuse and mental health issues plague Appalachia, and suicide and inter-personal violence are prevalent in the Southwest.
However, migration and the resulting changes in county demography can also inflate mortality rates. Faculty associate Philip Cohen explains, "It's important to note that the population is falling in a lot of the places with rising mortality rates — people are leaving those places when they have the opportunity to. That partly means that the less healthy people are left behind, so you see higher mortality rates in those places. But in addition to declining economic fortunes from economic shifts, it's also depressing and isolating to live in a place that people are trying to leave." Migration could therefore be part of the mechanism of rising mortality.