Health Outcomes

Below are the leading contributors to the overall burden of disease and injury in San Francisco, based on Years of Lost Life. These data are based on all death certificates for San Francisco residents during 2000 and 2001. For each cause of death, Years of Life Lost were estimated based on a life expectancy table. Thus, deaths occurring at younger ages received more weight. See the Department of Public Health's San Francisco Burden of Disease and Injury: Mortality Analysis, 1990-1995 [pdf] and Calculating Expected Years of LIfe Lost to Rank the Leading Causes of Premature Death in San Francisco (2007 report, pdf) for methodology. The leading causes are different for females and males. Mortality rates by ethnicity reveal great disparities. San Francisco's health outcomes are quite different from those for California.

Because the various neighborhoods of the City are not comparable in population size, they cannot be directly compared with one another. However, the striking differences in ranking of leading causes of death provide neighborhood profiles that are quite descriptive. The City is composed of many local neighborhoods.There is no common agreement on how to draw neighborhood boundaries and, in any case, they shift over time with migration, housing and commercial changes, and development practices. We divided the City into local areas based on United States Postal ZIP codes. ZIP codes areas are fairly large and stable, many neighborhoods are roughly approximated by their ZIP codes, permanently housed residents know their ZIP codes, and ZIP codes are the smallest geographic area commonly available in health data (including mortality data used in these analyses).

Citywide
2000 and 2001	Total Years of Life Lost	Avg Years of Life Lost per Death	Male Deaths	Female Deaths
1. Ischemic Heart Disease	30632	11.9	1310	1262
2. HIV	15337	39.1	358	34
3. Lung, Trachea, Bronchial Cancer	12485	16.9	435	305
4. Cerebrovascular Disease	12204	10.9	473	650
5. Other Cancers	10026	19.8	288	218
6. Poisonings	8863	41.2	172	43
7. Hypertension-Heart Disease	7534	13.9	259	283
8. Self Inflicted Injuries	7461	37.5	148	51
9. COPD	7157	13.3	292	246
10. Other Cardiovascular Disease	6519	12.3	242	289

 

 

 

Ethnicity:

Overall Mortality Rates

Ischemic Heart Disease Mortality Rates

Gender (Years Lost Life)

SF compared with CA

Zip Map (with Census 2000)

Updated November 19, 2005 • Please send feedback to Brian Katcher or Randy Reiter

About • Determinants • Health Outcomes • Web Links • Site Map