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Vital Statistics
The data presented in the report are derived from death certificates filed with the North Carolina Vital Records office for North Carolina resident children ages 0 through 17 who died in 2017. Numbers in this report may differ slightly from numbers reported later by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME). The State Center for Health Statistics (SCHS) bases its statistics on death certificate coding only and closes out annual data at a specific point in time. The OCME makes its determinations utilizing a variety of information sources when conducting its death reviews, does not close out its data, and some of its cases are still pending when SCHS closes their annual mortality data files. Therefore, the cause and manner of death determined by the OCME may be modified based on OCME review after the period during which the SCHS finalizes annual mortality data files.
I. Trends in Child Death Rates through time
This graph shows the overall child death rates since 1991. The overall rate has decreased 47 percent since the Child Fatality Task Force was created. However, since 2010 this rate has remained stagnant, fluctuating between 59.2 (2016) and 57.0 deaths per 100,000 resident children (2017).
II. Trends in Child Death Rates by Age Group
The graph presenting trends in child death rates by age group displays rates for the ten-year period 2008-2017. Rates are displayed for all child deaths ages 0 through 17, ages 1 through 17 (excluding infants), as well as four age groups: 1 to 4, 5 to 9, 10 to 14, and 15 to 17. Rates are presented per 100,000 resident children in that age group.
III. Child Deaths by Age Group and Cause of Death
Child Deaths by Age Group and Cause
Cause of death categories are allocated into five age groups: Infants, 1-4, 5-9, 10-14, and 15-17. The Infant category includes all children who die within 365 days of their date of birth. The number and percentage of deaths for each cause category are presented by age group.
Other Unintentional Injuries Subcategories
Note that the total number of other unintentional injuries is divided into five subcategories: suffocation/chocking/strangulation, drowning, poisoning, bicycle, and all other accidental injuries. Subcategories are based on the most frequently occurring causes of death within the unintentional injury grouping. Subcategory figures are not included in the overall totals since they are included in the broad Other Unintentional Injuries category.
All Other Causes of Death Category
This grouping includes deaths which cannot be categorized into any of the major cause of child death categories. Within this category, most of deaths were attributed to other ill-defined and unspecified causes of mortality (81.8 percent).
Note regarding Trends in Causes of Child Death
Since 1999, causes of death have been under the International Classification of Diseases-Tenth Revision (ICD-10) coding system. Coding for 1998 and earlier years were coded under the ICD-9 coding system. Consequently, caution should be exercised in comparing cause-specific deaths prior to 1999 with causes occurring from 1999 forward because the coding systems were not comparable. As a result, changes in the rates for specific causes of death from 1998 to 2017 may reflect changes in the coding system rather than epidemiological causes.
IV. Trends in Child Death Rates by Race/Ethnicity
The graph of trends in child death rates presents rates by race/ethnicity for every even year of data from 1991-2017. All racial/ethnic groups presented are mutually exclusive categories. Mortality data for this period does not include a mechanism for reporting decedents of multiple races. Rates are presented per 100,000 child population (ages 0-17) in that racial/ethnic group. Death rates prior to 2017 have been recalculated using the latest population estimates available.
V. Trends in Child Deaths for Selected Causes of Death
The graph presenting trends in child death rates by cause of death displays rates for the ten-year period 2008-2017. Rates are displayed for major cause of death categories; per 100,000 resident children (ages 0-17).
North Carolina Population Data
Denominators for all child death rates presented in this report are derived from population estimates supplied by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) and prepared under a collaborative arrangement with the U.S. Census Bureau. Bridged population estimates are updated after every Census (known as Intercensal files) and post-Census years are updated annually (known as Postcensal files). Intercensal Bridged estimates files were used for rates from 1991-2009. Denominators for 2010 estimates were derived from the 2010 Bridged Census file. 2011-2017 rates were based on 2017 Vintage Postcensal Bridged estimates.
Death rates prior to 2017 have been recalculated using the latest available population estimates. As a result, rates presented in this report may differ slightly from prior reports based on earlier population estimates.
Produced by the N.C. Division Public Health - Women's and Children's Health Section in conjunction with the State Center for Health Statistics
