Data & Statistical Reports

Community Data Profiles compare local areas with the state on various indicators.

The principal Community Data Profile for death data is the Leading Cause of Death Profile.

Other Community Data Profiles which include death data are:

Assault Injury
Child Health
Chronic Disease
Infant Health
Minority Health
Self-Inflicted Injury
Unintentional Injury
Women’s Health

The Death MICA allows users to create their own tables by cause of death, age, race, sex, ethnicity and geographic area.

The annual Vital Statistics publications contain numerous tables and graphs showing death data. Some of the tables are similar to those which could be created using the MICA. Commonly requested data not in the MICA include:

• Tables showing the ranked leading causes of death statewide for all residents combined, separately for Hispanics, and by race (white, black, and other) and by age group
• Number of births and deaths for cities with population 2,500 or greater
• Tables by cause of death for cities with 25,000 or more population
• Life expectancy tables statewide and by sex.
• Tables and graphs showing death rates statewide from 1911 to the year of the report
• Tables and graphs concerning infant deaths, including numbers for counties and for cities over 25,000 population, rates for Regional Planning Commission areas and statewide, and statewide tables by birth order and cause.

The Priorities MICA includes numbers of deaths and death trends among its criteria for ranking health needs.

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“Cause of death” refers to the underlying cause of death. That is the disease or injury which initiated the chain of events leading directly to death, or the circumstances of the accident or violence which produced the fatal injury.

Causes of death are classified in accordance with the International Classification of Diseases (ICD). Effective with deaths in 1999, a change in the ICD affected which cause would be chosen for some deaths.

Rates of death are usually expressed per 100,000 population. Since age is the greatest risk factor for death, death rates are frequently adjusted to compensate for difference in the ages of populations.