National trends in recent decades reveal an “emerging mortality penalty” for people living outside of metropolitan areas, Mississippi State researchers are reporting in American Journal of Public Health. For the first time in recent years, university scientists have identified data showing that more than 40,000 more people living in rural counties die annually than those in metropolitan areas. Research also shows the historical metropolitan mortality rate–more people dying in cities than in rural areas–has reversed since the mid-1980s, leading researchers to explore reasons why. “This is a reversal of a century-long trend that may have long-term ramifications for rural health…
