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Mortality Patterns by Race and Ethnicity
Oregon, 1989-1995
Introduction |
Statistics by Cause of Death
Introduction:
Not all Oregonians enjoy long and healthy lives, but the continuum
from good health to poor health is often difficult to define. Death, in contrast,
is a clearly defined event and has long been the single most reliable indicator
of the health of a population. It is the manifestation of the unique interplay of
social, cultural, biological, and economic factors among individuals and
groups of individuals.
The following tables will provide the user with detailed death statistics
for the racial/ethnic groups with the largest populations. Our goal is to
describe the mortality profile for all groups, but because the populations for
some groups are small and the deaths few, this is not possible. Four groups
(African Americans, Indians, Asians and Pacific Islanders, and Hispanics) had
sufficiently large populations to allow the calculation of meaningful statistics.
The apparent mortality experience of Oregon's minority populations
can be misleading. In all cases, the total crude death rates are lower than for
the majority non-Hispanic White population. But there is a paradox. While at
first glance non-Hispanic Whites appear to have the least favorable mortality
profile, this is a reflection of the different age distributions of the racial/ethnic
groups. After controlling for the age distribution differences by calculating
age-adjusted death rates, it is clear that African Americans have the least
favorable mortality profile.
For each cause of death, three tables are presented that show the
number of deaths, crude death rate, age-specific death rates, age-adjusted
death rate, comparative mortality figure, years of potential life lost, and years
of potential life lost index. For an overview of these various measures, see the
Methodology.
Statistics by Cause of Death are presented for:
(Best viewed and printed in 10 pt. fixed font)
All Causes [data]
AIDS [data]
Alcoholism [data]
Cancer [data]
Lung Cancer [data]
Cerebrovascular Disease [data]
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (e.g., emphysema, asthma, etc.) [data]
Diabetes [data]
Drug Overdoses (intentional and unintentional) [data]
Heart Disease [data]
Homicide [data]
Pneumonia and Influenza [data]
Suicide [data]
Unintentional Injuries [data]
Motor Vehicle Accidents [data]
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