Mortality, like real estate, can be all about location.

People living in the parts of the Mississippi Delta, Appalachia, the Coastal Plains along the southern East Coast, as well as residents of northern Nevada have the highest mortality rates nationwide.

Alternatively, if you're committed to longevity, your best locational bet is a move to the certain counties in Montana, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado, North Dakota and South Dakota, according to a new study comparing mortality rates in counties nationwide.

Sociologist Lynne Cossman of Mississippi State University describes the situation in this month's issue of the American Journal of Public Health.

It's a mystery as to exactly why lifespan is related to where you live, she said.

"There's no easy way to explain, so far, how death is rooted in place," Cossman said. "But, place matters; that's clearly the case."

One factor may be an individual's access to quality health care, Cossman said, so she next plans to explore whether prescription drugs can serve as a proxy for the relative incidence of illness.

Using data compiled by the federal Centers for Disease Control, Cossman has been lead researcher on an MSU team evaluating national mortality rates at the county level from 1968–2004. Even when considering such other factors as sex, race, socioeconomic standing, and education, location continues to have a major impact on mortality rates, she said.

The highest mortality rates in the Mississippi Delta were found in counties clustered along the river in Arkansas, Tennessee, Louisiana and Mississippi. The highest rates along the East Coast were primarily found in counties located slightly inland in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia.

Findings by Cossman and the other MSU researchers are consistent with prior work the team did about five years ago. She said the study's findings can serve as a guide for government policymakers to use when determining where to direct resources toward unhealthy religions.

死亡率，和房地产一样，和地点息息相关。

生活在密西西比三角洲区、阿巴拉契亚、沿着南部东海岸的滨海平原和内华达州北部的居民的死亡率全国范围。

相反，如果你想更长寿，根据对全国城市的死亡率进行比较的一项新研究表示，你的举措就是搬到蒙大拿州、爱荷华州、内布拉斯加州、堪萨斯州、科罗拉多州、北达科塔州和南达科塔州。

密西西比州立大学的社会学家Lynne Cossman在本月发行的《美国公共卫生杂志》中描述了该情况。

她说，具体为什么你所居住的地方和你的寿命有关仍是一个谜。

Cossman说：“迄今为止，我们还没有办法对此做出解释。但是，居住地点和寿命有关；这是毫无疑问的。”

Cossman说，可能会有一个因素和人们获得优质的医疗健康有关，所以她的下一步就是计划探究代理处销售处方药和疾病的相关联系。

Cossman曾是密西根州立大学团队的领头研究人员。他们采用由联邦政府疾病预防管理中心汇编的数据，评估了从1968年到2004年间国家各州的死亡率。她说，即便考虑到例如性别、种族、社会经济地位、教育等因素，居住地仍然是影响死亡率的主要方面。

密西西比三角洲区中死亡率的是沿着密西西比河的阿肯色州、田纳西州、路易斯安那州和密西西比。而沿着东海岸死亡率的基本是在维吉尼亚州、北卡罗来纳州、南卡罗莱纳州和乔治亚州的内陆区域。

Cossman和其他密西根州立大学的研究人员的发现和团队在五年前的发现一致。她表示研究结果可以作为政府决策者在决定向对健康有害地区提供资源时的向导。