Five leading causes of death (heart disease, cancer, stroke, motor vehicle-related injuries and other injuries) had lower age-adjusted death rates in 1996 than in 1987, two (diabetes and COPD) had higher rates, although the increase may be due, at least in part, to a revision in the death certificate, and the remaining leading causes had age-adjusted rates in 1996 that differed by less than five percent from the 1987 rate (pneumonia/influenza, septicemia, and nephritis/nephrosis). HIV infection deaths were omitted from the analysis since the ICD-9 cause-of-death codes for HIV infection were not fully implemented until 1988.

Age-adjusted death rates are presented as overall measures of mortality risk with the effects of age removed. The trend in age-specific death rates for any cause of death may differ from the trend in the age-adjusted rate (Tables M3-M4 and M6-M14).