title: Death in the United States, 2007.
abstract: Data from the National Vital Statistics System, Mortality In 2007, the age-adjusted death rate for the United States reached a record low of 760.3 per 100,000 population. Life expectancy at birth reached a record high of 77.9 years. States in the southeast region have higher death rates than those in other regions of the country. In 2007, the five leading causes of death were heart disease, cancer, stroke, chronic lower respiratory diseases, and accidents. These accounted for over 64 percent of all deaths in the United States. White females have the longest life expectancy (80.7 years), followed by black females (77.0 years). The gap in life expectancy between white persons and black persons declined by 35 percent between 1989 and 2007. The race differential was 4.6 years in 2007.
authors.affiliation: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, Hyattsville, Maryland 20782, USA.
authors.forename: Arialdi M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Miniño
authors.forename: Jiaquan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Kenneth D
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Kochanek
authors.forename: Betzaida
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Tejada-Vera
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008017:Life Expectancy / Q000208:ethnology / Q000639:trends*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009026:Mortality / Q000208:ethnology / Q000639:trends*; D044469:Racial Groups / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017678:Sex Distribution; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult