Mortality Trends and Prospects and Their Implications

One of the many aspects of life shared by the United States and Canada is a record of low mortality and of high longevity. In both countries the trend has been toward a general reduction in mortality rates, but the rela tive reductions have been greater for females than for males. During this cen tury the nonwhite population of the United States has also benefited from mor tality reductions. Factors which cause variability in rates of mortality include such environmental influences as place of residence, occupation, and social-eco nomic status. The effect of selective influences on death rates is evident in the trends of mortality according to marital status. To date, mortality reductions have been accomplished mainly through the control of infectious diseases; ma jor mortality problems today are the cardiovascular-renal diseases, cancer, and accidents. It is clear that progress in the field of health is intimately related to economic progress with the consequent increases in wealth and resources for ad vancing medical science and public-health programs. In the light of present knowledge, future reductions in mortality will depend largely on new advances in diagnosis and therapy and the rapidity with which they come into general use.