Health status varies by many factors such as age, race, Hispanic ethnicity,
and sex. It also varies by geographic region, even within a state as small
as New Jersey. The following tables display basic health status indicators
for each county in New Jersey. All data are for 1996 unless otherwise
noted.
Population
Population is given for three large age groups: children (aged 0 through
19), adults (aged 20 through 64), and the elderly (aged 65 and over).
While the percentage of the population under the age of 20 remains fairly
constant from county to county (from 23.7% in Bergen County to 31.6% in
Sussex County), the percentage of elderly residents varies more widely
(from 9.3% in Sussex County to 24.3% of Ocean County's population).
Natality
In addition to the total number of births and the birth rate for each
county, births to teens, inadequate prenatal care, and low birth weight
data are also displayed. The birth rate is given per 1,000 persons living
in the county. The percentages are given as a proportion of births to
residents of each county.
Mortality
Infant death rates are computed per 1,000 live births to residents of
the county. For all other mortality data, crude death rates are computed
per 100,000 residents of the county. Age-adjusted death rates are computed
based on the average number of deaths from 1994 through 1996. This was
done due to small number problems in some counties for some age group/cause
of death combinations. The ten causes of death listed are the ten leading
causes of death for the State of New Jersey in 1996. These may not necessarily
be the same ten leading causes for each county. Age-adjusting was done
using the direct method and the U.S. 1940 standard million population.
Morbidity
The incidences of selected communicable diseases are given along with
the rates per 100,000 residents of each county. AIDS, sexually transmitted
diseases, and tuberculosis (TB) have been highlighted in New Jersey Health
Statistics for the series 1989 through 1996 and therefore are included.
The other three diseases (Lyme, salmonella, and giardiasis) are the top
three reportable communicable diseases for the State of New Jersey in
1996 (besides those already highlighted).
Source:
All data were derived from New Jersey Health Statistics 1996 with
the exception of the county age-adjusted rates for the separate causes
of death. Those were computed by Center for Health Statisticsstaff. For
additional data, the full New Jersey Health Statistics 1996 report
is available on the web at www.state.nj.us/health/chs/hlthstat.htm.
For more information, contact:
New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services
Center for Health Statistics
Room 405
PO Box 360
Trenton, New Jersey 08625-0360
