Mortality rate

Definition

Mortality rate is the measure of the number of deaths in a particular population, scaled to the size of that population, per unit time. It is an essential metric in epidemiology for assessing the impact of diseases.

5 Must Know Facts For Your Next Test

1. Mortality rate is usually expressed as deaths per 1,000 or 100,000 individuals per year.
2. It differs from morbidity rate, which measures the incidence of disease in a population.
3. High mortality rates can indicate severe outbreaks or ineffective healthcare systems.
4. Epidemiologists use mortality rates to track and compare the severity of different diseases.
5. Factors such as age, gender, and socio-economic status can influence mortality rates.

Review Questions

• How is mortality rate usually expressed?
• What key differences exist between mortality rate and morbidity rate?
• Why do epidemiologists consider mortality rates important?

Related terms

Incidence Rate: A measure of new cases of a disease occurring in a specified period within a population.

Prevalence Rate: The proportion of a population found to have a condition at a specific time.

Case Fatality Rate: The proportion of individuals diagnosed with a disease who die from that disease within a specified period.