The purpose of this report is to provide information concerning deaths from exposure to heat due to weather conditions occurring in Arizona. Unlike our other reports, designed to monitor health status of the residents of Arizona, this publication is focused on mortality occurring in the State to both residents and non-residents. The data for 2002 (the latest year with complete information) are placed in a temporal context by comparison with the data for the preceding ten years.

This report is an annual information update about the prevalence of selected risk behaviors, health conditions and chronic diseases in adults in the State of Arizona. The document also provides data on self-reported health status and life satisfaction of Arizonans, health screenings and health care coverage. Core questions provide information on high-risk behaviors and chronic diseases that are surveyed each year. The optional modules provide information on high-risk behaviors and chronic diseases that may or may not be surveyed each year. State-added questions supply information on high-risk behaviors added by request. The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) program is a rich source of state-level public health data. These data have become integral to health promotion, disease prevention, and intervention planning throughout Arizona.

"Provides a comprehensive view of the health status, morbidity, and mortality among Arizonans 65 years of age and older. Designed to be a resource for those ... developing and implementing health policy for an increasingly aged populace, this report draws from multiple resources on the health, illness, and mortality of Arizona's older adults. Population estimates and projections were used to examine Arizona's current population composition by age and race/ethnicity as well as to estimate how Arizona's population structure will change over the next 40 years ... [T]he health behaviors and chronic disease burden experienced by Arizona's seniors were examined using the 2012 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) ... 2012 Hospital Discharge Data (HDD) was used to summarize emergency room (ER) and inpatient discharges by first-listed diagnosis separated by gender ... [T]he leading causes of death for Arizonans age 65 and older were identified separately by gender in 2012, with recent trends (2002-2012) ... also being analyzed ... In Arizona, the total population is expected to increase about 80 percent from ... 2010 to ... 2050, while the number of Arizonans age 65 and older is expected to increase 174 percent ... As the proportion of Arizonans age 65 and over increases, so will the racial/ethnic diversity ... [T]he findings of this report suggest that ... primary prevention strategies focused on reducing socioeconomic health disparities and increasing the availability and success of physical, intellectual, and social activities will become increasingly important as means of reducing the population health burden of chronic diseases associated with aging. Further developing our capacity to provide health services to older adults also will increase in importance, but the ability to prevent the development of costly chronic diseases and morbidities associated with aging will be the most successful method of reducing the overall costs of maintaining a healthy aging population"--Executive summary