Master of Arts (MA)


Geography and Anthropology

Document Type



Analysis of death trends in a geographic area can provide valuable information regarding the health of the people in that area. Additionally, evaluation of variables such as sex, race, age, and cause of death can aid local health officials in serving the needs of the population. East Baton Rouge Parish is located in southern Louisiana, includes the capital city of Baton Rouge, and has a population of 412,852. An analysis of death cases handled by the Coroner's Office in East Baton Rouge Parish has not been performed until now. This thesis presents results from an analysis of all deaths in East Baton Rouge Parish that were considered coroner's cases from January 1, 1991, to December 31, 2001. The race, age, sex, cause of death, and year of death of 23,813 coroner cases were analyzed. The results of this study indicate that white males aged 75 and older represent the largest number of deaths. In addition, the results show that heart disease is the number one killer of people in East Baton Rouge Parish, followed by cancer. These results were compared to the death trends of the state of Louisiana and the death trends of the United States. The goal of this comparison was to determine if the trends in the parish paralleled the trends of the rest of the state and country. The results of this analysis mirrored the death trends of the state of Louisiana. Finally, the results also closely reflected the death trends of the nation.



Document Availability at the Time of Submission

Release the entire work immediately for access worldwide.

Committee Chair

Mary Manhein