U.S. Mortality Drops Sharply in 2006, Latest Data Show
For Immediate Release:
June 11,
2008
Contact: CDC
National Center for Health Statistics Office of
Communication (301) 458-4800
E-mail: nchsquery@cdc.gov
Deaths: Preliminary
Data for 2006.
NVSR Volume 56, Number 16. 52 pp.
Age-adjusted death rates
in the United States declined significantly between 2005 and 2006 and life expectancy
hit another record high, according to preliminary death statistics released
today by CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics.
The 2006 age-adjusted
death rate fell to 776.4 deaths per 100,000 population from 799 deaths per
100,000 in 2005. In addition, death rates for 8 of the 10 leading
causes of death in the United States all dropped significantly in 2006, including a
very sharp drop in mortality from influenza and pneumonia.
Other findings in the
report:
Life
expectancy at birth hit a new record high in 2006 of 78.1 years, a 0.3
increase from 2005. Record high life expectancy was recorded for both white males
and
black males (76 years and 70 years, respectively) as well as for white females and
black females (81 years and 76.9 years).
The
preliminary number of deaths in the United States in 2006 was 2,425,900, a 22,117
decrease from the 2005 total. With a rapidly growing older population,
declines in the number of deaths (as opposed to death rates) are unusual,
and the 2006 decline is likely the result of more mild influenza mortality in
2006 compared with 2005.
Between
2005 and 2006, the largest decline in age-adjusted death rates occurred for
influenza and pneumonia, with a 12.8 percent decline. Other declines were
observed for chronic lower respiratory diseases (6.5 percent), stroke (6.4
percent), heart disease (5.5 percent), diabetes (5.3 percent), hypertension
(5 percent), chronic liver disease and cirrhosis (3.3 percent), suicide (2.8
percent), septicemia or blood poisoning (2.7 percent), cancer (1.6 percent) and accidents (1.5
percent).
There
were an estimated 12,045 deaths from HIV/AIDS in 2006, and age-adjusted
death rates from the disease declined 4.8% from 2005.
The
preliminary infant mortality rate for 2006 was 6.7 infant deaths per 1,000
live births, a 2.3 percent decline from the 2005 rate of 6.9.
Alzheimer’s
disease passed diabetes to become the sixth leading cause of death in the
United States
in 2006. An estimated 72,914 Americans died of Alzheimer’s disease in 2006.
However, the preliminary age-adjusted death rate from Alzheimer’s did not
change significantly between 2005 and 2006.
The data are based on
over 95% of death certificates collected in all 50 states and the District
of Columbia as part of the National Vital Statistics System.