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Mortality Data, Multiple Cause-of-Death Public-Use Data Files

Survey description
Data file description
List of data file variables at a glance
Data file technical characteristic
Geographic coverage
Data availability
Ordering information
Documentation contents
Related reports
Contact
Mortality data Web page

Survey description
Mortality data by multiple causes of death include all deaths occurring within the United States. Deaths of U.S. citizens and deaths of members of the Armed Forces occurring outside the United States are not included.

Data file description
Data are obtained from certificates filed for deaths occurring in each State.  Data were obtained from all certificates for 1968-71, 1973-80, and 1983-2000. Data were obtained from a 50-percent sample of certificates for 1972.  Multiple-cause data for 1981 and 1982 were obtained from a 50-percent sample of certificates from 19 registration areas.  For the other States, data were obtained from all certificates. The user must be aware that the multiple-cause files and the underlying cause files for 1981 and 1982 differ in that the underlying cause files were processed on a 100-percent basis.

A detailed data file is available for each year 1968 through 1988.  The multiple-cause files include one record for each death occurring the data years except for 1972 and the 19 registration areas in 1981 and 1982 in these cases, the files include one record for each death in the sample. Death certificate numbers are not included in the data.  Causes of death for 1968-78 were coded according to the Eighth Revision, International Classification of Diseases, Adapted for Use in the United States. Causes of death for 1979-98 were coded according to the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision.  Causes of death for 1999-2000 were coded according to the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision.

One data file is available for each year, 1989 through 1998, from NTIS.  The detailed file format is for a single calendar year and includes data for cities, counties, and metropolitan areas with a population of 100,000 or more. The day of death, date of birth of decedent, and the death certificate numbers are excluded from this file. NCHS does not distribute certificates, files, or indexes with identifying information for deaths.  Please refer to the section of the home page on "How to obtain birth, death, marriage, and divorce certificates."

List of data file variables at a glance
(1968-78, 1979-88, and 1989-98)

Detail (1989-98)
Data year
Residence of decedent:¹
State²
County^2,3
City³
Population size
Standard metropolitan statistical area^2,3
Metropolitan and nonmetropolitan counties
Age at death:
Infants under 1 year (hours, days, months)
Infants ages 1 year and over (single years)
Autopsy performed (1989-94)
Day of week
Education (single years, 0-17)⁴
Hispanic origin⁴
Hospital (including status of decedent) and other type
of place of death
Industry or business⁵
Injury at work (beginning 1993)
Month of death
Marital status
Occupation (usual)⁵
Place of birth (State and eight categories outside of the United States)
Place of death (State,^2,3 county^2,3)
Race (nine categories)⁶
Sex
State of birth
Underlying cause of death:⁷
Each cause
Multiple condition codes:
Entity axis
Record axis¹
State²
County^2,3
City³
Population size
Standard metropolitan statistical area^2,3
Metropolitan and nonmetropolitan counties
Age at death:
Infants under 1 year (hours, days, months)
Infants ages 1 year and over (single years)
Autopsy performed (1989-94)
Day of week
Education (single years, 0-17)⁴
Hispanic origin⁴
Hospital (including status of decedent) and other type
of place of death
Industry or business⁵
Injury at work (beginning 1993)
Month of death
Marital status
Occupation (usual)⁵
Place of birth (State and eight categories outside of the United States)
Place of death (State,^2,3 county^2,3)
Race (nine categories)⁶
Sex
State of birth
Underlying cause of death:⁷
Each cause
Multiple condition codes:
Entity axis
Record axis¹
State²
County^2,3
City³
Population size
Standard metropolitan statistical area^2,3
Metropolitan and nonmetropolitan counties
Age at death:
Infants under 1 year (hours, days, months)
Infants ages 1 year and over (single years)
Autopsy performed (1989-94)
Day of week
Education (single years, 0-17)⁴
Hispanic origin⁴
Hospital (including status of decedent) and other type
of place of death
Industry or business⁵
Injury at work (beginning 1993)
Month of death
Marital status
Occupation (usual)⁵
Place of birth (State and eight categories outside of the United States)
Place of death (State,^2,3 county^2,3)
Race (nine categories)⁶
Sex
State of birth
Underlying cause of death:⁷
Each cause
Multiple condition codes:
Entity axis
Record axis
____________________________________________________
¹Place of residence for decedents who were nonresidents of the United States has been coded to country of residence.
²Includes FIPS codes as well as NCHS codes.
³Includes data for areas with a population of 100,000 persons or more.
⁴Applicable only for those States having information on the certificate.
⁵Applicable only for those States transmitting information to NCHS.
⁶Beginning 1992, additional categories are available for some States.
⁷Causes of death for 1989-97 were coded according to the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision.

Detail (1979-88)
Data year
Residence of decedent:¹
State²
County²
City (100,000 persons or more)²
Population size
Standard metropolitan statistical area²
Metropolitan and nonmetropolitan counties
Age at death:
Infants under 1 year (hours, days, months)
Ages 1 year and over (single years)
Autopsy performed
Day of death
Hispanic origin or descent (1984-88)³
Hospital and patient status
Industry or business (1985-88)⁴
Month of death
Marital status
Occupation (usual) (1985-88)⁴
Place of accident
Place of birth (State and eight categories outside of the
United States)
Place of death (State,² county²)
Race (nine categories)
Sex
State of birth
Underlying cause of death:⁵
Each cause
Multiple condition codes:
Entity axis
Record axis¹
State²
County²
City (100,000 persons or more)²
Population size
Standard metropolitan statistical area²
Metropolitan and nonmetropolitan counties
Age at death:
Infants under 1 year (hours, days, months)
Ages 1 year and over (single years)
Autopsy performed
Day of death
Hispanic origin or descent (1984-88)³
Hospital and patient status
Industry or business (1985-88)⁴
Month of death
Marital status
Occupation (usual) (1985-88)⁴
Place of accident
Place of birth (State and eight categories outside of the
United States)
Place of death (State,² county²)
Race (nine categories)
Sex
State of birth
Underlying cause of death:⁵
Each cause
Multiple condition codes:
Entity axis
Record axis¹
State²
County²
City (100,000 persons or more)²
Population size
Standard metropolitan statistical area²
Metropolitan and nonmetropolitan counties
Age at death:
Infants under 1 year (hours, days, months)
Ages 1 year and over (single years)
Autopsy performed
Day of death
Hispanic origin or descent (1984-88)³
Hospital and patient status
Industry or business (1985-88)⁴
Month of death
Marital status
Occupation (usual) (1985-88)⁴
Place of accident
Place of birth (State and eight categories outside of the
United States)
Place of death (State,² county²)
Race (nine categories)
Sex
State of birth
Underlying cause of death:⁵
Each cause
Multiple condition codes:
Entity axis
Record axis
____________________________________________________
¹Place of residence for decedents who were nonresidents of the United States has been coded to country of residence.
²FIPS codes as well as NCHS codes beginning in 1982.
³Applicable only for those States having information on the certificate.
⁴Applicable only for those States transmitting information to NCHS.
⁵Causes of death for 1979-88 were coded according to the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision.

Detail (1968-78)¹

Data year
Residence of decedent:²
State
County
City (250,000 persons or more)
Population size
Standard metropolitan statistical area
Metropolitan/nonmetropolitan counties
Age at death (single years)
Month of death
Day of death (1972-78)
Place of death (State, county)
Race:
Seven categories (1968)
Nine categories (1969-78)
Sex
Underlying cause of death:³
Each cause
Whether autopsy performed (1972-78)
Whether findings used (1972-77)
Multiple condition codes:
Entity axis
Record axis
____________________________________________________
¹All data items in the detail file are in EBCDIC code. The stub portion of all summary records consists of EBCDIC codes, and the spread portion consists of a series of full-word binary fields containing numbers of deaths.
²Beginning in 1970 the place of residence for decedents who were nonresidents of the United States has been coded to the country of residence (eight categories). Formerly these deaths were considered resident deaths of the place of occurrence. The local area and cause-of-death summaries exclude data for nonresidents of the United States.
³Causes of death for 1968-78 were coded according to the Eighth Revision, International Classification of Diseases, Adapted for Use in the United States.

Data file technical characteristics
All mortality data files are available on CD-ROM with Statistical Export and Tabulation System (SETS) retrieval software.  Beginning  with 1994, the mortality data for Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands are provided as separate data sets on the file.

Detail file

150-percent sample.

Geographic coverage
Place of death is classified by State and county. In residence classification, all deaths are allocated to the usual place of residence as reported on the death certificate and are classified by State, county, and city.

For data years 1968-78, cities of 250,000 persons or more are classified. Beginning with 1979, cities of 100,000 persons or more are classified.

Geographic classification is as follows:

Data availability
Mortality, Multiple Cause-of-Death data are collected annually. ASCII CD-ROM are available for individual years from 1968-98.  The 1991-94 files are released together on a single ASCII CD-ROM.   Beginning 1994, data released on CD-ROM contains the SETS Interface.

Customized data
Additional data for 1989-2000 are sold directly by NCHS to researchers whose needs for data cannot be met by the NTIS products. Requests for data with more detail must be in writing and mailed to:

Director, Division of Vital Statistics
National Center for Health Statistics
3311 Toledo Road, Floor 7
Hyattsville, Maryland 20782

All requests for additional data should include a list of the specific data items that are needed and an explanation of how the data will be used.  The Director will make a determination on the request and release data as applicable.  However, recipients must agree to additional restrictions to avoid possible inadvertent disclosure of confidential information.

Ordering information
The Mortality, Detail, Multiple Cause-of-Death ASCII data for  years 1999 and 2000 can be obtained by contacting the Director, Division of Vital Statistics.  ASCII files for data years up to 1998 can be purchased from the National Technical Information Service (NTIS). Available SETS CD-ROMs can be purchased from both NTIS and the Government Printing Office (GPO).  Check for availability and contact NTIS and/or GPO for current ordering information. 

Documentation contents
Documentation, including content and technical information needed to access the data, is available electronically on the CD-ROM.  Control total tables are also included.

Related reports
Data based on the tapes have been published in Monthly Vital Statistics Report, "Multiple Causes of Death in the United States," Vol. 32, No. 10 Supplement (2), February 17, 1984.

Contact
Mortality Statistics Branch
Division of Vital Statistics
National Center for Health Statistics
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
3311 Toledo Road, Floor 7
Hyattsville, Maryland 20782
(301) 458-4666

This page last reviewed April 04, 2003