These days a lot of people are eating right and exercising in order to have a long and happy life, but it turns out it may all be for nothing. In fact, new research suggests that where you live could be one of the most influential things about how you will eventually meet your ultimate demise.

U.S. mortality data of 80.4-million deaths recorded from 1980 through 2014 in the United States show that certain areas of the country are more prone to certain types of deaths, with four major factors impacting death trends, including social and economic factors, quality of health care, access to health care and preventable risky behaviors.

For example, the research found:

• Folks in eastern Kentucky and western West Virginia are more likely to die from chronic respiratory diseases,
• Suicide and homicide are the leading cause of deaths in the southwestern part of the country
• Substance abuse deaths are highest in Alaska, eastern Arizona, New Mexico, eastern Kentucky and southwestern West Virginia.
• Meanwhile, folks in northern and central Colorado, which is known for healthy living, are less likely to die from chronic diseases and those in the southeastern section of the United States, where obesity and smoking is high, have higher risks of dying from things like heart disease and diabetes.

“The take-home from this study is that place matters,” Dr. LaMar Hasbrouck, executive director of the National Association of County and City Health Officials, shares. “Place is the still the most important determinant of health.”

Source: CBS News