Mortality 2000
Mortality Highlights
Recent Trend in Key Indicators Period Delaware U.S. Delaware*
Heart Disease
• Deaths per 100,000 population (adjusted**) 1994-1998 292.3 287.0 Decreasing
Cancer
• Deaths per 100,000 population (adjusted**) 1994-1998 231.6 208.4 Decreasing
Stroke
• Deaths per 100,000 population (adjusted**) 1994-1998 51.7 62.2 Decreasing
Unintentional Injuries
• Deaths per 100,000 population (adjusted**) 1994-1998 38.0 36.1 Increasing
Diabetes
• Deaths per 100,000 population (adjusted**) 1994-1998 28.0 23.7 About the Same
Kidney Disease
• Deaths per 100,000 population (adjusted**) 1994-1998 13.2 9.6 About the Same
HIV Infection/AIDS
• Deaths per 100,000 population (adjusted**) 1994-1998 13.1 11.2 Decreasing
* Trend over last 3 to 4 time periods.
** Age-race-sex adjusted using 2000 U.S. Standard.
Key Facts
• The three leading causes of death in Delaware for the period of 1999-2000 were Heart Disease, Cancer,and Stroke (See Table F-6) .
• Accidents are the number one cause of death for persons 1-44 years of age, and are responsible for approximately 53% of all deaths for persons 1-24 years of age (See Table F-10) .
• Life expectancy for babies born in 2000 varied by race-sex group: white males - 74.5, white females - 79.6, black males - 69.4, and black females - 75.5 (see Table F-41) .
• There were 6872 deaths to Delaware residents in 2000 (See Table F-1) .
Changes in Data Reporting and Analysis: The Transition from ICD-9 to ICD-10
The International Classification of Diseases is an internationally recognized system of collecting, processing, classifying, and presenting mortality statistics. In order to reflect advances in medicine, terminology, and disease classification, the classification system has been revised ten times since its inception in 1900. The 1999 implementation of ICD-10 (International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision) introduced significant changes to the classification system, such as the conversion from numeric to alphanumeric codes, the reclassification of certain conditions under new categories, the institution of new cause of death titles and codes, and new procedures for determining the underlying cause of death. In addition, ICD-10 has greater detail, with over 3000 more categories than ICD-9. These changes have affected the manner in which mortality statistics are reported and analyzed, preventing direct comparison of ICD-9 (pre-1999) and ICD- 10 (1999 and later) data. For example, when using ICD-10 coding and classification rules, fewer deaths are attributable to Pneumonia. This is because pneumonia is more often considered a consequence of another cause, rather than the actual underlying cause of death, as it was under ICD-9 rules. This change in classification reduced the number of Influenza and Pneumonia deaths by 30% when comparing 1998 and 1999 national data. To address the comparability issue, the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) developed comparability ratios, which, when applied to the pre-1999 data, correct for discrepancies due to the ICD conversion and resulting coding changes*. Because these ratios were created using national data, which is not disaggregated by age, sex, or race, they have not been applied to the Delaware 1999 mortality data. Additionally, the national ratios do not always reflect the changes seen in Delaware data. For these reasons, 1999 and 2000 Delaware mortality data are not compared with earlier data and are presented as frequencies only (no rates) in the "Current Mortality" section of this report. An "Historical Mortality" section has been included as well; it presents a variety of five year average age-adjusted mortality rates for selected leading causes of death. Many of these rates have been revised due to having final population estimates derived from the 2000 census figures. *For a more thorough explanation of comparability ratios and effects of the ICD conversion, please refer to the NCHS website at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/about/major/dvs/icd10des.htm.
Printed copies of the graph and charts can by obtained by contacting: 
Delaware Division of Public Health
Delaware Health Statistics Center
PO Box 637
Dover, Delaware 19903
(302) 744-4700