Mortality

Date Posted: 01/12/2009

Mortality refers to the number or rate of deaths that occur in a population. Rates used in this report were per 100,000 residents and include: age-adjusted rates (used to provide a basis of comparison for two groups) and crude rates (utilized only in cases where one population was observed or where age-adjusted rates could not be calculated).

The following data were obtained from the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment's Colorado Health Information Database (COHID). CDPHE protects patient confidentiality by limiting access to data when identification is statistically possible. Therefore, in certain circumstances (such as for Racial & Ethnic Health Data), data for Larimer County were suppressed and unavailable for analysis.

See Additional Information section for data regarding life expectancy.

What this chart shows: General Mortality Rates (per 100,000) - Colorado & Larimer County, 1998-2007

Data Source: Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Colorado Health Information Dataset

See data table

What these data tell us:

Mortality rates for Larimer County and Colorado decreased appreciably from 2002 to 2004 and again from 2005 to 2006. This primarily appears to be the result of decreases in deaths due to cardiovascular disease and cancer, the two leading causes of death. The age-adjusted death rate for the United States decreased from 798.8 deaths per 100,000 in 2005 to 776.4 deaths per 100,000 in 2006 (most current data available). Larimer County's 2006 death rate of 628.9 per 100,000 is 19% lower than the death rate for the United States during the same period. (National Vital Statistics Reports).

See the data table for number of deaths.

What this chart shows: Mortality Rates (per 100,000) by Type - Colorado & Larimer County, 2007

Data Source: Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Colorado Health Information Dataset

See data table

What these data tell us:

The leading causes of death for both Larimer County and Colorado in 2007 were heart disease and cancer. Larimer County had higher mortality rates for cerebrovascular disease, diabetes, and essential hypertension & hypertensive renal disease. Colorado, however, had higher mortality rates for chronic lower respiratory disease, unintentional injuries (accidents), Alzheimer's disease, suicide, influenza & pneumonia, and chronic liver disease.

The most recent United States mortality data (2005) indicated that nationally heart disease, cancer, and cerebrovascular disease were the three leading causes of death. However, in Larimer County and Colorado chronic lower respiratory disease was the third leading cause of death. Colorado had a higher mortality rate for intentional self-harm (suicide) than either the United States or Larimer County. Finally, Larimer County had a higher mortality rate for essential hypertension & hypertensive renal disease than the United States or Colorado. (National Center for Injury Prevention and Control)

View a data table of the top ten causes of death in the United States in 1900, 1950 and 2005.

For top ten conditions by gender, see the Men's and Women's Health pages.

What this chart shows: Mortality Rates (per 100,000) by Age Group - Larimer County, 2007

Data Source: Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Colorado Health Information Dataset

See data table

What these data tell us:

Mortality rates increase dramatically after age 74 as people are more likely to die as they age. Although Larimer County has relatively low infant mortality rates (347 per 100,000), it is interesting to note that the mortality rate experienced in infancy is only exceeded by mortality rates for groups over age 55. Complications early in life such as Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, pre-term birth, or low birth weight contribute to infant mortality (see Infant Mortality page). It is also worth noting that infants and elderly groups contain smaller population numbers which increase rates (Population by Age).

Additional Information:

On Compass-

• Cancer Incidence & Mortality
• Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke Mortality
• Infant Mortality
• Lung Cancer Incidence & Mortality
• Suicide
• Unintentional Injury Mortality (including motor vehicle deaths)

Outside Compass-

• Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics 1900-1998
• Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics 1999-2005
• Centers for Disease Control, Offices of Minority Health & Health Disparities (OMHD): Eliminating Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities
• National Vital Statistics Reports, Centers for Disease Control: Deaths-Preliminary Data for 2007

Top 10 Causes of Death in the United States, 1900, 1950, and 2005

1900	1950	2005
1. Pneumonia	1. Diseases of Heart	1. Diseases of the Heart
2. Tuberculosis	2. Malignant Neoplasms	2. Malignant Neoplasms
3. Diarreah/Enterirtis/ Ulcers of the Intestine	3. Vascular Lesions (Central Nervous System)	3. Cerebrovascular Diseases
4. Diseases of the Heart	4. Accidents	4. Chronic Lower Respiratory Disease
5. Intracranial Vascular Lesions	5. Certain Disease of Early Infancy	5. Accidents
6. Nephritis	6. Influenza & Pneumonia	6. Diabetes Mellitus
7. Accidents	7. Tuberculosis	7. Alzheimer's Disease
8. Cancer/ Other Malignant Tumors	8. General Arteriosclerosis	8. Influenza & Pneumonia
9. Senility	9. Nephritis	9. Nephritis
10. Diphtheria	10. Diabetes Mellitus	10. Septicemia

Data Sources:

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1900-1998
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1999-2005

Return to Text

Life Expectancy

• In 2006, the life expectancy at birth for all races and both sexes was 78.1 years of age.

Return to Text

Industry Standards or Targets:

See targets by topic for the data pages listed in the 'On Compass' Section above.

Data Tables:

General Mortality Rate (per 100,000) - Colorado & Larimer County, 1998-2007*

	Colorado		Larimer County
	Number	Rate	Number	Rate
1998	26,582	815.3	1,376	739.0
1999	27,033	803.6	1,417	729.7
2000	27,229	783.6	1,498	742.1
2001	28,243	795.9	1,528	742.9
2002	29,157	806.1	1,552	743.8
2003	29,410	796.1	1,545	712.5
2004	28,227	743.3	1,474	661.5
2005	29,521	763.3	1,551	676.8
2006	29,413	743.1	1,501	628.9
2007	29,888	736.5	1,615	651.2

*Age-Adjusted Rates

Data Source: Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Colorado Health Information Dataset

See chart

Mortality Rates (per 100,000) by Type - Colorado & Larimer County, 2007*

	Colorado	Larimer County
Cancer	157.9	152.7
Heart Disease	154.4	137.3
Chronic Lower Respiratory Disease	51.4	35.9
Unintentional Injury	44.7	36.4
Cerebrovascular Diseases	41.7	49.9
Alzheimer's Disease	30.8	20.3
Diabetes Mellitus	17.3	19.1
Suicide	16.3	11.8
Influenza & Pneumonia	15.5	12.7
Chronic Liver Disease & Cirrhosis	10.9	2.9
Essential Hypertension & Hypertensive Renal Disease	4.4	11.3

*Age-Adjusted Rates

Data Source: Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Colorado Health Information Dataset

See chart

Mortality Rate (per 100,000) by Age Group - Larimer County, 2007*

Age (Years)	Larimer Deaths	Colorado Deaths	Larimer Population	Colorado Population	Larimer County Rate	Colorado Rate
<1	12	433	3,458	70,102	347.0	617.7
1-4	<3	59	<3	284,888	<3	20.7
5-14	5	87	34,089	664,659	14.7	13.1
15-24	23	447	49,702	736,038	46.3	60.7
25-34	24	617	40,732	656,863	58.9	93.9
35-44	54	1,150	39,236	743,686	137.6	154.6
45-54	112	2,572	43,522	749,117	257.3	343.3
55-64	171	3,564	29,813	524,266	573.6	679.8
65-74	221	4,480	15,711	262,493	1,406.7	1,706.7
75-84	430	7,644	10,209	162,459	4,212.0	4,705.2
85+	562	8,835	3,623	54,954	15,512.0	16,077.2

*Crude death rates

Data Source: Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Colorado Health Information Dataset

See chart

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