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National Summary of
Injury Mortality Data
The Injury Mortality Data available on the CDC World-Wide Web pages provide tabulations
of the total numbers of deaths and the death rates per 100,000 population for major and
other selected external causes of death from injury, by race, sex, and age groupings.
National data on injury mortality are from 1979 through 1997 and will allow you to assess
short-term trends in numbers of deaths and death rates. State figures summarize national
and state data for 1989 through 1997 for selected causes of injury mortality.
The numbers of deaths by external cause of injury (International Classification of
Disease-9th Revision, E-codes)1 are from the annual mortality data tapes of
the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention. We used population data from the U.S. Bureau of the Census to calculate death
rates for 1980 and 1990. Intercensal population estimates were used for 1981 through 1989
and decennial census population counts for 1990. And for 1991-1997, we use Census Bureau
postcensal estimates.
Note: in previous versions of these web pages, a
different source of population estimates were used for the years 1991-1995. This
change may result in some different rates between the current and previous rates presented
for 1991-95 only.
We computed age-adjusted rates by the direct method and standardized to the total U.S.
population as enumerated in 1940. This method and the standard year of 1940 were used to
be consistent with data reported by NCHS and with data being tracked for the year 2000
objectives of the U.S. Public Health Service.2 Our age-adjusted death rates may
differ slightly from those of NCHS because we used 5-year age categories, as presented in
our tables, for calculations and NCHS used 10-year age groups.3
For your convenience, we have provided death rates for each of the race-sex-age
groupings in which one or more deaths occurred. However, because NCHS considers rates
based on 20 or fewer deaths to be statistically unreliable, such rates should be regarded
with caution. For further details on this and other statistical issues, please refer to
the National Vital Statistics Report, 1998.3 ( To obtain a copy of this
report, contact NCHS at (301) 436-8500, http://www.cdc.gov/nchs ).
"During 1989-1995, annual counts of deaths prepared by some States differ from
those of NCHS. Differences between State and NCHS counts are generally concentrated among
selected causes of death, principally Symptoms, signs, and ill-defined conditions (ICD-9
Nos. 780-799) and external causes (homicides, suicides and unintentional injuries). These
differences occurred mainly because NCHS did not receive changes resulting from amended
records. Affected States are as follows: Alaska, 1989-1995; Alabama, 1991-1992; Hawaii,
1991; New Jersey, 1991-1993.4"
This year's national tables include tabulations by proposed standard E-code groupings
for reporting injury mortality data.5,6 CDC's National Center for Injury
Prevention and Control has been collaborating with NCHS and members of the Injury Control
and Emergency Health Services section of the American Public Health Association to develop
these groupings, which appear in the national tables. National data are presented by mechanism
of injury or cause of deaths (e.g., fall, fire/flames, firearm, poisoning, and
suffocation) as well as for unintentional injuries/adverse events, suicides, homicides,
and overall injuries.
Updates to the data presented on these pages will occur annually. NCHS produces its
mortality data tapes for a given year approximately 18 months after the year ends. NCIPC
updates its web pages several weeks after receiving the NCHS data. Thus, 1997 mortality
data will likely be available sometime during the 3rd quarter of 1999.
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