An Ecological Study on the Associations of County-Based Credit Ratings with Age-Adjusted Mortality Rates in Michigan

Abstract

AbstractThe objective of this study was to examine the association and implications between 21 Michigan county-specific credit ratings and age-adjusted mortality rates averaged across six quarters of county-specific data. Pearson’s regression analysis was performed and indicated that county credit ratings were significantly associated with average age-adjusted county mortality rates (r = 0.7715, p = 0.0000421), with lower county credit ratings corresponding to higher average age-adjusted county mortality rates. The results indicate that county credit ratings are associated with negative public health outcomes specific to that county, which the investigators propose mechanistically relates difficulty of local governments ascertaining low-cost funding for community health, infrastructure, and economic development projects.