Survey
description
Mortality data by multiple causes of death include all deaths occurring
within the United States. Deaths of U.S. citizens and deaths of members of
the Armed Forces occurring outside the United States are not included.
Data
file description
Data are obtained from certificates filed for deaths occurring in each
State. Data were obtained from all certificates for 1968-71,
1973-80, and 1983-present. Data were obtained from a 50-percent sample of
certificates for 1972. Multiple-cause data for 1981 and 1982 were
obtained from a 50-percent sample of certificates from 19 registration
areas. For the other States, data were obtained from all
certificates. The user must be aware that the multiple-cause files and the
underlying cause files for 1981 and 1982 differ in that the underlying
cause files were processed on a 100-percent basis.
A detailed data file is
available for each year 1968 through 1988. The multiple-cause files
include one record for each death occurring the data years except for 1972
and the 19 registration areas in 1981 and 1982 in these cases, the files
include one record for each death in the sample. Death certificate numbers
are not included in the data. Causes of death for 1968-78 were coded
according to the Eighth Revision, International Classification of
Diseases, Adapted for Use in the United States. Causes of death for
1979-98 were coded according to the International Classification of
Diseases, Ninth Revision. Causes of death for 1999-present
were coded
according to the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth
Revision.
One data file is
available for each year. For 1989 - 2004, the detailed
file format is for a single calendar year and includes data for cities,
counties, and metropolitan areas with a population of 100,000 or more. The
day of death, date of birth of decedent, and the death certificate numbers
are excluded from this file. Beginning with the
2005 data, geographic data are excluded. NCHS does not distribute certificates, files,
or indexes with identifying information for deaths. Please refer to
the section of the home page on "How
to obtain birth, death, marriage, and divorce certificates."
Data
file technical characteristics Mortalitydata files
are available on CD-ROM. Beginning with 1994, the mortality data for Guam,
Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands are provided as separate data sets on
the file.
Geographic
coverage
Place of death is
classified by State and county. In residence classification, all deaths
are allocated to the usual place of residence as reported on the death
certificate and are classified by State, county, and city.
For data years 1968-78,
cities of 250,000 persons or more are classified. Beginning with 1979,
cities of 100,000 persons or more are classified.
Beginning with the 2005 data file, geographic data are excluded.
Geographic
classification is as follows:
Data
year
Census
enumeration
2003-04
2000
1994-2002
1990
1982-93
1980
1970-81
1970
1968-69
1960
Data
availability
Mortality, Multiple Cause-of-Death data are collected annually.
ASCII CD-ROM are available for
individual years from 1968-present.
Ordering
information
The Mortality, Multiple
Cause-of-Death ASCII data for years
2000-present can be obtained by contacting the
Mortality Statistics Branch, Division of
Vital Statistics.
ASCII files for data years up to 1999 can be
purchased from the National Technical Information Service (NTIS).
Available SETS
CD-ROMs can be purchased from both NTIS and the Government Printing Office
(GPO). Check for availability
and contact NTIS
and/or GPO for
current ordering information.
Documentation
contents
Documentation, including
content and technical information needed to access the data, is available
electronically on the CD-ROM and the
Internet. Control total tables are also
included.
Related
reports
Data based on the tapes have been published in Monthly Vital Statistics
Report, "Multiple Causes of Death in the United States," Vol.
32, No. 10 Supplement (2), February 17, 1984.
Contact
Mortality Statistics Branch
Division of Vital Statistics
National Center for Health Statistics
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
3311 Toledo Road, Floor 7
Hyattsville, Maryland 20782
(301) 458-4666