Method
County population figures and death statistics are acquired using CDC WONDER from the Underlying Cause of Death database. Conditions were queried for years 2016-2020 based on a selection of codes from the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) 10th revision. The ICD-10 is the current global health information standard for mortality and morbidity statistics. The ICD has been maintained by the World Health Organization since its conception in 1948. A searchable, detailed list of current ICD-10 Codes (Version 2019) is available from the World Health Organization.
Mortality rates were acquired from the source age-adjusted to the year 2000 U.S. standard. To recalculate age-adjusted mortality rates for unique service areas and aggregated county groupings, the following formula was used:
Mortality Rate = 100,000 * SUM [(Total Population) * ((Age-Adjusted Rate)/100,000)] / SUM(Total Population).
The specific codes used for reported mortality indicators are listed below (notice that motor vehicle crash, firearm, and poisoning are listed as part of the injury mechanism for all kinds of deaths and thus are not related with any specific codes).
- Assault (homicide): U01-U02, X85-Y09, Y87.1
- Cerebrovascular disease (stroke): I60-I69
- Coronary (Ischaemic) heart disease:I20-I25
- Chronic lower respiratory disease (lung disease): J40-J47
- Heart disease: I00-I09, I11, I13, I20-I51
- Intentional self-harm (suicide): U03, X60-X84, Y87.0
- Malignant neoplasm (cancer): C00-C97
- Unintentional injury (accident): V01-X59, Y85-Y86
- Influenza and pneumonia: J09-J18
- Opioid overdose: T40.0-T40.4
- Drug overdose (all substances): \r\nX40-X44,X60-X64,X85,Y10-Y14
Background
The Division of Vital Statistics is a branch of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) responsible for maintaining birth and death records for the nation. Data are compiled for the National Vital Statistics System (NVSS) through a joint effort between the NCHS and various state and local health agencies, who are responsible for registering vital events – births, deaths, marriages, divorces, and fetal deaths. NVSS statistics are released annually in various data warehouses, including CDC WONDER , VitalStats, and the Health Indicator Warehouse .
Note
Data Suppression
Suppression is used to avoid misinterpretation when rates are unstable. Data are suppressed when the total number of cases is less than 10 (for each county/cause of death/population group) over the time period monitored. Rates should be considered unreliable when calculated with a numerator (number of cases) less than 20.
Trends Over Time
Trends over time are produced using single-year mortality data from the CDC WONDER query system. Use caution when comparing single-year mortality rates with 5-year aggregate mortality rates. Trend data are available for states and for the total US; county-level data are not provided due to data suppression / low numerator counts.
Race and Ethnicity
Race and ethnicity (Hispanic origin) are collected as two separate categories by state vital statistics registries based on methods established by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in 1997. All mortality statistics from the CDC WONDER databases are available by race alone (White, Black, Amer. Indian/AK Native, and Asian) ethnicity alone (Hispanic, Non-Hispanic), or by combined race and ethnicity. Data are reported here in combination, and thus may be subject to higher suppression than if reported separately.