Data: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2017 data; Interactive: Lazaro Gamio/Axios
The death rates from pretty much every major cause — heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer's, diabetes, suicide, sepsis, guns, infant mortality — remain highest in the South, according to updated data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Between the lines: Rural Appalachia has higher death rates from drug overdoses. But a lot of the poorest health outcomes in the South reflect longstanding poverty, fewer health care resources and longstanding barriers to care.
