Report: White women in some SC counties dying at higher rates

The death rate of middle-aged white women in Horry County has increased 21 percent since 1999, while the trend for white males and African Americans has decreased, according to a new report by The Washington Post.

That number is in keeping with the national trend, which blamed the increase on drug overdoses, suicides, and alcoholism, the Post reported.

In 2014, the Charleston Post and Courier reported that South Carolina ranked high nationally over the previous decade for deaths due to domestic violence.

For Horry County, the current rate of 307 deaths per 100,000 people ranks near the middle as far as increased death rates across all of South Carolina’s 46 counties. The trend also puts Horry County in the middle ranking nationally.

The death rate of middle-aged white males increased 9 percent, while the death rate for black males decreased by 33 percent, and black females decreased by 48 percent.

One of the few counties to see a decrease for middle-aged white women deaths was Charleston, which decreased 18 percent.

Other counties that saw an increase include:

▪ Orangeburg, 136 percent

▪ Georgetown 86 percent

▪ Darlington 73 percent

▪ Florence 44 percent

▪ Richland 17 percent

The Washington Post report also used data collected from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.

This story was originally published September 6, 2016 at 9:29 PM.