Diseases affecting the digestive system, including the upper gastrointestinal (GI) tract, chronic liver disease, cirrhosis, inflammatory bowel disease, and others, are significant causes of death worldwide. Mayo Clinic and North Dakota State University researchers recently delved into demographic data at the national, state and county level in the U.S. to see which populations are most affected by gastrointestinal disease mortality. They found a significant upward trend in these deaths among Native populations whose race and ethnicity are designated as "American Indian and Alaska Native" in research, in several regions.

"Our findings revealed that Native people experienced the highest mortality rates from diseases affecting the digestive system, particularly among females, which highlights a critical health disparity. This suggests that we need to address regional health inequalities through healthcare access and disease prevention programs," says Mayo Clinic Advanced Motility Fellow Wafa Aldhaleei, M.D., M.P.H., first author of the study on gastrointestinal disease mortality, which was published in the journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.

Her research team examined health data from 3,110 U.S. counties and identified 10 counties with the highest prevalence of digestive disease mortality. The 10 counties were Minnehaha County, South Dakota; Cascade County, Montana; Bannock County, Idaho; Gila County, Arizona; Fremont County, Wyoming; La Paz County/Yuma County, Arizona; Oglala Lakota County, South Dakota; Rio Arriba County, New Mexico; Hennepin County, Minnesota; and Woodbury County, Iowa.

They also specifically investigated the digestive diseases mortality rate by race and ethnicity — white, Black, Latino, American Indian and Alaska Native and Asian and Pacific Islander populations — as well as by sex.

Within the 10 counties with the highest digestive disease mortality rate, American Indian and Alaska Native people were affected the most.

Native populations can face barriers such as access to gastrointestinal specialty care and preventive vaccine programs, write the researchers.

"Deep-rooted, systemic racism can affect the design of health policies for certain areas and populations, and that affects health," Dr. Aldhaleei says. "Throughout the world, poverty, food insecurity, lack of access to clean water, environmental exposures, vaccine hesitancy, lack of insurance and healthcare access, as well as personal risk factors such as excess body weight, alcohol and substance use disorders can influence the gut microbiome."

Read the full article about gastrointestinal disease mortality by Alison Satake at Mayo Clinic New Network.