Mortality

The word mortality is derived from “mortal,” in classical Greek mythology a human, as opposed to a god, who is “immortal” or immune to death. Mortals, unlike gods, are doomed to die. To a physician, mortality is generally used to refer to the rate of death in association with particular diseases or other factors, such as age, gender, income, and national origin. Statistics on mortality are kept by local, state, and federal governments, and the World Health Organization (WHO) maintains a database on cause-of-death records dating back to 1950. Data are supplied to WHO by those member states considered to have reliable and consistent information. For developed countries, data are supplied at frequent intervals, usually each year. For less developed countries, data reporting is intermittent and of lower reliability. WHO keeps data on the number of deaths according to cause, gender, age, year, nation, and geographic area. Data are coded according to the International Classification of Disease (ICD) code. As with morbidity statistics, mortality data are used by various[Page 374] governments to formulate health care policy and to allocate or reallocate health care resources. Statistics on infant mortality, maternal mortality, life expectancy, and cause of death may result in focused studies or in government-sponsored health care initiatives. In the United States, recommendations regarding pediatric immunization, diet, and vaccination when traveling to foreign countries are a direct result of morbidity and mortality statistics. Federal law requiring the printing of health warnings on cigarette packages and containers of alcoholic beverages, and those regulating the sale of tobacco and alcohol products are influenced by the known or suspected mortality related to the use of such substances.