Southern states and areas with a higher Latino population and lower average household income have higher rates of liver-disease­-related mortality, Healio reports.

Publishing their findings in the American Journal of Medicine, researchers compared liver disease death rates in all U.S. states according to the 2010 National Vital Statistics Report. They derived population specifics from the 2010 U.S. Census and alcohol consumption and obesity data from the 2010 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Survey.

After adjusting the data for differences in age, the researchers found that per 100,000 people, between 6.4 and 17 people died in 2010 from liver disease depending on the state. The Northeast saw the lowest liver-disease-related death rates per 100,000 people, including 6.4 people in New Hampshire and 6.6 people New York. The West and central Southwest had the highest rates per 100,000 people, including 12.7 people in Arizona and 17 people in New Mexico.

The proportion of statewide deaths related to viral hepatitis ranged from 1 percent in Wisconsin to 5.9 percent in Delaware. Such death rates were closely tied to the rates of liver-disease­-related mortality. Those states in the lowest quartile of liver-disease-related mortality saw 2 percent of their 2010 deaths related to viral hepatitis, while this figure was 3.1 percent in the states in the highest quartile of liver-disease-related mortality.

Of the 13 states in the highest quartile of liver-disease-related mortality, seven had a higher than average Latino population. States in the highest quartile also had the highest rates of racial diversity.

Nine of the 13 states in the highest quartile of liver-disease-related mortality had a relatively low median income. Meanwhile, six of the 13 states in the lowest quartile had the highest median income in the nation.

There was no apparent association between alcohol use and obesity rates and liver-disease-related mortality rates.

To read the Healio article, click here.

To read the study, click here.