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UPDATE: U.S. VITAL STATISTICS.

As the year draws to a close, it seems appropriate to review the latest U.S. vital statistics. These data are provisional; as usual, they carry a mix of good and bad news.

The birth rate decreased by 3 percent from 1990 to 1991. However, births to unwed mothers were still increasing as of 1989, and teenage maternity rates reached a 15-year high. The marriage rate fell slightly in 1991; the divorce rate remained essentially unchanged.

The age-adjusted death rate decreased by 1.4 percent in 1991, to a record low. But while average life expectancy increased among whites (males, 72.6 to 73.0 years; females, 79.3 to 79.7), it fell among blacks (males, 66.0 to 65.6; females, 74.5 to 74.3). Death rates from all malignant neoplasms decreased -- except for respiratory cancers. Deaths involving HIV increased in all age groups and races. Infant mortality decreased by 2 percent in 1991 to 8.9 per 1000 live births. However, the U.S. was only 20th in international comparisons, and the gap between black and white infants continued to widen.

— RAD

Published in Journal Watch General Medicine December 15, 1992

Citation(s):

Wegman ME. Annual summary of vital statistics -- 1991. Pediatrics 1992 Dec 90 835-845.

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