About Compressed Mortality, 1979-1998

The Compressed Mortality database contains mortality and population counts for all U.S. counties. Counts and rates of death can be obtained by cause of death, state, county, age, race, sex, and year.

This Request Form allows you to request data for the years 1979 - 1999 only, with the underlying cause of death specified with ICD-9 codes. To request data for other years, see Compressed Mortality File. For more information, refer to Why Separate Query Pages?

Note: The 1989 data for age groups 10-14 years and 25-34 years were revised on May 9, 2007 due to a data discrepancy. Previously, 27 deaths in the 10-14 year age group were incorrectly recorded as deaths in the 25-34 age group.

Data Use Restrictions:

The Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 242m(d)) provides that the data collected by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) may be used only for the purpose for which they were obtained; any effort to determine the identity of any reported cases, or to use the information for any purpose other than for health statistical reporting and analysis, is against the law. Therefore users will:

• Use these data for health statistical reporting and analysis only.
• For sub-national geography, do not present or publish death counts of 9 or fewer or death rates based on counts of nine or fewer (in figures, graphs, maps, tables, etc.).
• Make no attempt to learn the identity of any person or establishment included in these data.
• Make no disclosure or other use of the identity of any person or establishment discovered inadvertently and advise the NCHS Confidentiality Officer of any such discovery.

Sanctions for Violating Rules:

Researchers who violate the terms of the data use restrictions will lose access to WONDER and their sponsors and institutions will be notified. Researchers who are suspected of violating the rules may be prevented from using WONDER until an investigation can be completed. Deliberately making a false statement in any matter within the jurisdiction of any department or agency of the Federal government violates 18 USC 1001 and is punishable by a fine of up to $10,000 or up to 5 years in prison, or both.