The death rate in New York City reached an all-time low in 2006, the Health Department reported today, as the number of deaths fell to 55,391 - down from 57,068 in 2005 and 60,218 in 2001.
Mortality declined in eight leading categories, including diabetes, HIV, chronic lung disease and kidney failure. The only leading killer that increased significantly was substance use (up 8%). Heart disease and cancer remained the city's biggest killers, claiming 21,844 lives and 13,116 lives, respectively. The figures come from the latest Annual Summary of Vital Statistics, the definitive registry of births and deaths in New York City.
The Annual Summary, available online at www.nyc.gov/html/doh/downloads/pdf/vs/2006sum.pdf, also provides new details on New Yorkers' life expectancy. Those figures, based on 2005 data, show that women's life expectancy rose by 2.5 months, reaching a record 81.3 years. Male life expectancy held steady at 75.7 years in 2005, while overall life expectancy increased from 78.6 years to 78.7 years.
"New Yorkers are living longer, healthier lives," said Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, New York City Heath Commissioner, "but too many New Yorkers are still dying from preventable causes. The leading causes of premature death can be prevented by quitting smoking, controlling blood pressure and cholesterol, reducing risky sex and using condoms to avoid HIV, and living free of alcohol and drug dependence. We are working with community groups and health providers to help all New Yorkers achieve better health."
Leading Causes of Death in New York City, 2006
The report reveals a steady decline in smoking-related deaths, which have fallen by 11% since 2002 (from 8,722 to 7,744 among adults 35 and older). Deaths from smoking-induced cardiovascular disease fell by 14% from 2002 to 2006. Fatal lung cancer fell by 8% during the same period, and deaths from chronic airway obstruction declined by 17%. Recent declines in NYC's smoking rate should yield similar benefits in future years. Smoking-related deaths are calculated by methods published by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; these estimates do not include deaths from exposure to second-hand smoke.
While overall cancer deaths declined among people under 65 in 2006, the toll from colon cancer rose by 17%. Colonoscopy screening can prevent colon cancer deaths by identifying the condition at its earliest, most treatable stages. New York City has dramatically improved its screening rate in recent years -- 60% of adults over 50 had received colonoscopies when surveyed last year, up from 52% in 2004 - but colon cancer progresses slowly, so the increase in screening may not affect the death rate for several more years.
Deaths from HIV disease fell by nearly 15% in one year -- from 1,419 in 2005 to 1,209 in 2006 -- and the toll declined for both sexes and all ethnic groups. Numbers this low have not been seen since 1984, when New York City recorded 952 deaths from AIDS. Researchers attribute the continuing decline to several factors, including a lower infection rate among injecting drug users (thanks in part to syringe exchange programs), increased health services for injecting drug users, a declining population of injecting drug users, expanded HIV testing and referral to care, and slower disease progression among people receiving antiretroviral therapy. HIV mortality is still concentrated among NYC's minority populations, with roughly 34% of HIV deaths occurring among black men and 21% among black women; 11% of HIV deaths occur among white men and 3% among white women.
New HIV diagnoses have recently increased among young men who have sex with men, but the trend has yet to affect mortality rates.
The toll from diabetes fell 6% to 1,708 in 2006, after rising by more than 4% a year earlier, but experts take little comfort in the new number. Premature deaths from diabetes (those among people under 65) increased by 6.4% during the same period, reflecting a worsening citywide epidemic. Type-2 diabetes, which is closely tied to obesity, is a leading cause of blindness, amputations, kidney failure and heart attack.
The report charts a 12% drop in deaths from influenza and pneumonia, which together constitute the city's third leading killer. Likely explanations include normal variation and a mild flu season. It is not too late to get a flu vaccination this season. Influenza has yet to have widespread transmission and vaccine is plentiful -- call 311 for clinic locations.
Births in New York City, 2006