10 States Where Chance of Dying Young Is Highest

"Some of our states are falling behind other, less developed countries" when it comes to premature death, says University of Washington epidemiologist Ali Mokdad, whose new study in JAMA shows a major disparity in the death rates of people aged 20 to 55 in California and those in West Virginia. The 10 states with the highest probability of premature death among young and middle-aged adults in 2016, blamed on factors including opioids, alcoholism, and suicide, per the Atlantic:

1. West Virginia
2. Mississippi
3. Alabama
4. Oklahoma
5. Kentucky
6. Arkansas
7. New Mexico
8. Louisiana
9. Tennessee
10. South Carolina

Click for the 10 states with the lowest probability of premature death, or see the best and worst states for millennials. (More lists stories.)