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Death in Charleston, South Carolina. A retrospective
1Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston 29425, USA.
Insights
Charleston
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Epidemiology
- Medical History
Background:
- Charleston, South Carolina, has a 324-year history of overcoming infectious diseases.
- Modern health challenges in Charleston include heart disease, neoplasia, homicide, and suicide.
- Historical mortality data offers insights into past medical challenges and current global health issues.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review historical mortality trends in Charleston, South Carolina.
- To examine the shift from infectious diseases to chronic and violent causes of death.
- To discuss current significant causes of death, focusing on homicide trends.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of death records from South Carolina state, Charleston City, and Charleston County.
- Review of historical and recent mortality data.
- Comparative analysis of disease prevalence and mortality over time.
Main Results:
- 18th- and 19th-century South Carolinians faced high mortality from tuberculosis, diarrhea, and fevers.
- These infectious diseases cause limited mortality in the 20th-century United States.
- Contemporary Charleston faces significant mortality from heart disease, neoplasia, homicide, and suicide.
Conclusions:
- Mortality causes in Charleston have evolved from infectious diseases to chronic and violent conditions.
- Understanding historical trends provides context for current public health challenges.
- Recent trends in homicide warrant further investigation and public health intervention.
Abstract:
Over the past 324 years, Charleston, South Carolina, has triumphed over rampant infectious disease only to be overcome by more modern plagues: heart disease, neoplasia, homicide, and suicide. Examination of death records of the state of South Carolina, Charleston City, and Charleston County provides us with a glimpse of the medical challenges of our recent past; it also reminds us of the scourges that still ravage underdeveloped countries. The 18th- and 19th-century South Carolinians were besieged by tuberculosis, diarrhea, and a myriad of fevers. These diseases, though prevalent in other parts of the world, result in limited mortality in the 20th-century United States. A review of the historic trends in mortality in Charleston is presented; current significant causes of death, with emphasis on recent trends in homicide, are also discussed.