Premature death is defined as the years of potential life lost before age 75 per 100,000 population. Top causes of death for Cabarrus County include heart disease and cancer. These causes of death as well as other causes such as suicide and unintentional injury are the leading causes of premature death. Substance abuse also is a contributing factor as substance use can lead to an increase in suicide and unintentional injury (United Health Foundation, 2020). 

Individuals who are obese, smoke, and exhibit risk factors for heart disease are at higher risk for premature death. In the 2020 County Health Ranking, about a third of residents in the county were considered obese and a quarter of residents reported little physical activity.

The CDC estimates that 20-40% of premature deaths are preventable. Premature deaths can be prevented through healthy lifestyle behaviors such as healthy eating and physical exercise. By making these lifestyle changes, risk factors for premature death can be reduced.

Effective interventions include health education, substance use interventions and increasing access to preventative health care services (United Health Foundation, 2020).

"Years of Potential Life Lost (YPLL) is a widely used measure of the rate and distribution of premature mortality. Measuring premature mortality, rather than overall mortality, reflects the County Health Rankings’ intent to focus attention on deaths that could have been prevented. Premature death is a very long-term health outcome, effects on which might not be seen for years or even decades after a program or policy is implemented (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 2020)".

"Data on deaths and births were provided by NCHS and drawn from the National Vital Statistics System (NVSS). These data are submitted to the NVSS by the vital registration systems operated in the jurisdictions legally responsible for registering vital events (i.e., births, deaths, marriages, divorces, and fetal deaths). In prior years of the Rankings, Premature Death was calculated by the National Center for Health Statistics, but this year the Mortality-All County (micro-data) file was requested. (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 2020).