Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, September 1, 1993 TAG: 9309010024
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
Heart disease, cancer and stroke remain the three big killers, claiming 64 percent of the 2,169,518 lives lost in 1991, the National Center for Health Statistics said.
AIDS moved up from 10th to ninth place on the list - 29,555 people died due to HIV infection, with men outnumbering women among the victims by more than 7-to-1.
AIDS was the leading killer of black men ages 25-44 and the third leading killer among black women in that age group. It was the second leading cause of death among white men those ages and sixth among women.
Although the overall number of deaths broke a 1988 record by 1,519, the center said the death rate actually was down because the population is growing. There were 8,603 deaths for every 1 million people in 1991, down from 8,638 deaths in 1990 and from 8,713 deaths in 1989.
"Provisional data for 1992 suggest that the death rate is continuing to decline," the center said.
The infant mortality rate of 8.9 deaths per 1,000 live births was a record low, as previously reported. The mortality rate for black infants was 17.6 deaths, or more than double the rate of 7.3 deaths among white infants.
Life expectancy at birth was up by 0.1 years to its new high of 75.5 years.
"Women currently are expected to outlive men by an average of 6.9 years, and white persons are expected to outlive black persons by an average of seven years," the center said.
Life expectancy at birth was 78.9 years for women and 72 years for men. It was 79.6 for white females; 73.8 for black females; 72.9 for white males, and 64.6 for black males.
by CNB