Question

To get a better idea of the evolution of the problem and how the situation compares with national figures, you next plot the trends in deaths between 2000 and 2014 for deaths due to overdose for the state and for the US (US data not yet available for 2015) 25 US Rate State Rate 20 ↓ 15 10 8. Describe the trends in words.

Answer 1

8. Lets first describe the national US Rate in terms of deaths between 2000 and 2014 due to overdose. We see that the US death rate increased at an increasing rate between 2000 and 2002, then it declined sharply in 2003 after which it again started increasing from 2004, declined slightly in 2010, gradually increased till 2013 and jumped sharply in 2014. When we look at the trend of the State X Rate, we see that the State X Rate has increased gradually from 2000 to 2014 without showing any sharp increase or decrease over the years. But, if we compare the State X Rate and the US Rate, we see that the State X Rate was higher than the US Rate only in 2000 and 2003 after which the State X Rate increased over the years but it did not increase as much as the US Rate and remained significantly low, so the two lines started roughly around the same figures in the initial years i.e. in 2000-2001 but they are diverging in the later years i.e. in 2013-14.