Trends in United States mortality

The authors present "a review of historical trends (1900 to 1979) in age-adjusted mortality [in the United States] for all causes of death combined (total mortality) and in terms of race and sex. Age-specific data for all causes of death combined disaggregated by race and sex are also examined. Then to better understand the factors contributing to changes in the aggregate death rates we examine trends in cause-specific mortality for both the total population and each race-sex group." (EXCERPT)