Births and deaths up in 2023
While births were up in 2023, deaths continue to outweigh the number of new lives welcomed by Weston County residents, according to information provided by Kim Deti, public information officer for the Wyoming Department of Health.
The information was provided following a March 15 release describing the state’s 2023 death, birth, marriage and divorce totals, according to records held by the Vital Statistics Services, a part of the Department of Health. The release notes that totals are considered “provisional” at this point and that minor adjustments and updates are expected over time.
In 2023, Weston County residents had 62 births, five of which took place in Weston County. At the same time, 85 Weston County residents died, 70 of which happened in the county.
In comparison, Deti reported that 51 births were recorded among Weston County residents in 2022, three of which happened in Weston County. Deaths in 2022 totaled 76 among county residents, with 60 of those actually happening in Weston County.
In 2018, births among county residents totaled 57, with three taking place in the county, according to information provided by Deti. Deaths that year totaled 80, with 57 happening in the county.
“The largest notable increase in deaths was among Weston County residents in 2021. It was 106 that year,” Deti said in an email. “We had a large increase that year statewide as well, which is reasonable to attribute to COVID-19, particularly with the circulation that year of the initial Delta variants.”
As for marriage and divorces, information for 2023 shows that marriages increased in the county, while divorces decreased at 37 and 14, respectively. In 2022, the county saw 33 marriages and 22 divorces, and in 2018, the county saw 33 marriages and 23 divorces.
Among Wyoming residents, fewer overall deaths, births, marriages and divorces were officially logged in 2023, the release says.
“Among Wyoming residents, there were 5,566 deaths in 2023, 5,895 deaths in 2022, 6,574 deaths in 2021, 5,986 deaths in 2020 and 5,122 deaths in 2019, according to official death certificate information,” the release says. Death certificates, it notes, are completed by medical certifiers, funeral professionals and coroners before being filed with the vital statistics services.
“The COVID-19 pandemic certainly caused some changes in Wyoming’s statistics over the past few years, particularly with increased deaths,” Stefan Johansson, WDH director, said in the release. “However, those pandemic-specific effects do seem to be decreasing.”
The release notes that the top five causes of death among Wyoming residents in 2023 were listed, in order, as heart diseases, cancers, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and related conditions, various types of accidents and adverse effects and cerebrovascular diseases.
While suicide did not top the list, Johansson acknowledged the state’s ongoing concern about suicide.
“In 2023, there were 157 suicide deaths recorded among Wyoming residents compared to 155 in 2022,” the release says.
Provisional data shows that about 85% of the suicide deaths were among males. Additionally, data shows that in 2023, 72% of the suicide deaths involved firearms, 22% involved hanging, and 4% involved poisoning.
According to the release, overdose deaths totaled 120 among state residents, compared with 110 in 2022. Of those deaths in 2023, 70% were linked to illicit drugs, 27% to prescription drugs, and 3% involved a combination of both.
“Opioids can be either prescription drugs or illicit drugs and were connected to 81 of the reported overdose deaths last year,” the release says. “Fentanyl was linked to 52 of the deaths and methamphetamine with 48.”
As for Weston County, Deti said that county-related data on suicides and overdoses for 2023 is not available at this time.
As for births, birth certificate data for the state shows a total of 5,989 births recorded among Wyoming residents in 2023, down from 6,050 in 2022, the release says.
Additionally, 4,061 marriages were recorded in the state in 2023, down from 4,272 in 2022, while divorces finalized in 2023 totaled 1,955, up from 1,949 in 2022.