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Show Mortality Indicators Several mortality (death) indicators were chosen to compare Utah's health with that of the nation. These indicators measure death rates for certain health conditions that are thought to be influenced by health care, environmental factors, and lifestyle choices. The mortality indicators use the International Classification of Disease (ICD-9) codes to facilitate comparisons with other states and the U.S. Rates for each of these indicators are reported by crude rates and/or age-adjusted rates. Crude rates should not be used when comparing two different populations, but they have broad availability and are frequently cited in news media. Age-adjusted rates provide more accurate comparisons because they adjust for differences in age distribution. Utah has a younger population than the nation and hence should have lower crude mortality rates for those diseases common in older persons. Age-adjusted rates are calculated by the "direct method." The standard age-adjustment population for comparison of death rates is the 1940 population. The total number of deaths in Utah for 1993 has been included for each indicator to give the reader a sense of the relative importance of each cause of death. Some indicators include age-adjusted mortality rates by sex for Utah. Sex differences in mortality rates are considered important by both researchers and policy-makers. However, national sex differences have not been included here because of space considerations and because they generally follow the same male/female patterns as in Utah. Sources for this section can be found on pp. 111-116 of the Review. Life Expectancy In Utah and the United States, life expectancies for men and women have increased since 1970. During this period, women have consistently had longer life expectancies than men. This difference in life expectancies has contributed to a consistent relationship between male and female population percentages: women comprise a slightly higher percentage of the population than men. Figure 15 Table 25. Life Expectancy at Birth Male Female Year Utah U.S. Utah U.S. 1970 69.5 67.1 76.6 74.7 1980 72.4 70.0 79.2 77.4 1990 - 71.8 - 78.8 1992 - 72.3 - 79.0 Life Expectancy at Birth 8I-1 79- .•o _______^* Years 77 < 75 t --** c 73- Age i 71-69 I 671 65- -----------------h ----------------1-----------------1 1970 1980 1990 2000 -O-----Utah Female •-------U.S. Female - - - -D - - - Utah Male U.S. Male 50 Health Status |
