SeniorJournal.com

INDEX

FRONT PAGE

PAGE TWO
More Headlines

 • General Features

 • Find Help

 • SENIOR ALERTS

 • Baby Boomers

 • Odds & Ends

Health-Fitness

 • Fitness

 • Health/Medicine

 • Medical Research

 • Nutrition/Vitamin

Government

 • Politics

 • Medicare

 • Medicare Drug Program

 • Medicare Q&A - Dear Marci

 • Medicaid

 • Social Security

 • Social Security, Medicare Q&A

 • Social Security Reform

Enjoying Life

 • Books

 • Entertainment

 • Features

 • Grandparents

 • Senior Statistics

 • Senior Stars

 • Sex & Seniors

 • Sports

 • Travel

 • Senior Volunteers

On The Web

 • Links - Senior

 • Senior Friendly Business Links

 • Sites We Like

Elderly Issues

 • Elder Care

 • Assistance for Elderly

 • Housing

Money 

Thinking

 • Opinions

E-mail this page to a friend!

Americans Living Longer, Men Gain on Women in 2004

CDC releases report shows death rate at record low for 2004

April 20, 2006 – A report released yesterday shows life expectancy continues to increase and the gap between women, who live the longest, and men has narrowed for the second year in a row. Life expectancy for those born in 2004, says the analysis from the National Center for Health Statistics of the Centers for Disease Control, was 77.9 years. For females, however, it was 80.4 to 75.2 for men.

This report provides selected key findings from 2004 preliminary mortality data for the United States. The findings come from a substantial portion of the records of deaths that occurred in calendar year 2004 and were received and processed by NCHS as of September 12, 2005.

Mortality records are based on information reported on death certificates as completed by funeral directors, attending physicians, medical examiners, and coroners.

A report that includes a more complete analysis of the preliminary data will be released later.

Highlights from Preliminary Mortality Data, 2004

The preliminary, estimated number of deaths in the United States for 2004 was 2,398,343 (Table 1).

The estimated age-adjusted death rate, which accounts for changes in the age distribution of the population, reached a record low of 801.0 per 100,000 U.S. standard population. The preliminary crude death rate for 2004 was 816.7 per 100,000 population (Table 1).

The preliminary estimate of life expectancy at birth for the total population in 2004 reached a record high of 77.9 years (Table 1).

The 15 leading causes of death in 2004 (Table 2) were:

Diseases of heart (heart disease);

Malignant neoplasms (cancer);

Cerebrovascular diseases (stroke);

Chronic lower respiratory diseases;

Accidents (unintentional injuries);

Diabetes mellitus (diabetes);

Alzheimer’s disease;

Influenza and pneumonia;

Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis (kidney disease;

Septicemia;

Intentional self-harm (suicide);

Chronic liver disease and cirrhosis;

Essential (primary) hypertension and hypertensive renal disease (hypertension);

Parkinson’s disease; and

Pneumonitis due to solids and liquids.

The preliminary infant mortality rate for 2004 was 6.76 infant deaths per 1,000 live births (Table 1).

The 10 leading causes of infant mortality for 2004 (Table 3) were:

Congenital malformations, deformations and chromosomal abnormalities (congenital malformations);

Disorders related to short gestation and low birth weight, not elsewhere classified (low birthweight);

Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS);

Newborn affected by maternal complications of pregnancy (maternal complications);

Newborn affected by complications of placenta, cord and membranes (cord and placental complications);

Accidents (unintentional injuries);

Respiratory distress of newborn;

Bacterial sepsis of newborn;

Neonatal hemorrhage; and

Intrauterine hypoxia and birth asphyxia.

Trends

The age-adjusted death rate reached a record low 801.0 per 100,000 U.S. standard population. This value is 3.8 percent lower than the 2003 rate of 832.7 (Table 1). All the sex, race, and Hispanic origin groups described in this report showed significant decreases in the age-adjusted death rate between 2003 and 2004. The relative magnitudes of these decreases were:

Non-Hispanic white males (3.5 percent);

Non-Hispanic white females (3.2 percent);

Non-Hispanic black males (4.4 percent);

Non-Hispanic black females (3.9 percent);

American Indian males (5.9 percent);

American Indian females (5.9 percent);

Asian or Pacific Islander males (5.1 percent);

Asian or Pacific Islander females (3.5 percent);

Hispanic males (6.1 percent); and

Hispanic females (6.3 percent).

Life expectancy at birth for the total population in 2004 reached a record high of 77.9 years. This represents an increase of 0.4 year relative to 2003. Record-high life expectancies were reached for white and black males, as well as for white and black females (See above graph).

The trend toward convergence in mortality figures across the sexes continued in 2004. The difference in life expectancy at birth between male and female has decreased an average one-tenth of a year every year since 1980. The difference between male and female life expectancy was 5.2 years in 2004, the smallest such difference since 1946.

The trend toward convergence in mortality figures across the major race groups also continued in 2004. The trend that began between 1993 and 1994 has meant an average decrease of one-fifth of a year every year since 1993. The difference between white and black life expectancy in 2004 was 5.0 years.

The 15 leading causes of death in 2004 (Table 2) remained the same as in 2003 with the exception that Alzheimer’s disease and Influenza and pneumonia swapped positions with each other relative to their previous placement in 2003. The age-adjusted death rate declined significantly for 10 of the 15 leading causes of death. Long-term decreasing trends for heart disease, cancer, and stroke (the three leading causes of death) continued. Increases occurred for hypertension and Alzheimer’s disease.

The slight decrease (1.3 percent) in the infant mortality rate between 2003 and 2004 was not statistically significant.

Click here to Search SeniorJournal.com for more on this subject

Click to More Senior News on the Front Page

Copyright: SeniorJournal.com