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Death Rates from Leading Causes of Death

Summary Indicator Report Data View Options

The causes of death shown in the bar chart and data table are the 10 leading causes of death in New Mexico in 2020. The U.S. death rates for those same causes are also shown for comparison. The multi-colored grid shows the 10 leading causes of death for New Mexico versus the 10 leading causes for the U.S.
The causes of death shown in the line chart and data table are the 10 leading causes of death in New Mexico in 2020. The NM death rates for those same causes for earlier years are also shown for comparison. The multi-colored grid shows the 10 leading causes of death in New Mexico for each calendar year. The 10 leading causes of death, ranked in order of highest numbers of New Mexico deaths in 2020 were as follows: heart disease, cancer, COVID-19, unintentional injuries, chronic lower respiratory disease, stroke, diabetes, chronic liver disease, Alzheimer's disease, and suicide. COVID-19 took an enormous toll on New Mexicans in 2020. Aside from COVID-19, the rankings have been relatively stable over time, with increases in unintentional injuries (which includes opioid overdose), and chronic liver disease and cirrhosis and a decrease in cancer deaths.
The causes of death shown in the bar chart and data table are the 10 leading causes of death in New Mexico, overall, in 2020. The multi-colored grid shows the 10 leading causes of death in New Mexico for males versus females.
The causes of death shown in the bar chart and data table are the 10 leading causes of death in New Mexico, overall, in 2020. The multi-colored grid shows the 10 leading causes of death in New Mexico for each age group.
The causes of death shown in the bar chart and data table are the 10 leading causes of death in New Mexico, overall, in 2020. The multi-colored grid shows the 10 leading causes of death for each New Mexico race/ethnic group.

Why Is This Important?

Death rates by leading causes of death show areas where health improvement and prevention programs could be targeted to reduce the greatest number of deaths.

Definition

Death rates for the leading causes of death are the number of deaths per 100,000 New Mexico population from each cause, ranked according to the number of deaths.

Data Sources

  • New Mexico Death Data: Bureau of Vital Records and Health Statistics (BVRHS), Epidemiology and Response Division, New Mexico Department of Health.
    (https://www.nmhealth.org/about/erd/bvrhs/vrp/)
  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, CDC WONDER Online Database
    (http://wonder.cdc.gov)
  • New Mexico Population Estimates: University of New Mexico, Geospatial and Population Studies (GPS) Program.
    (http://gps.unm.edu/)

How the Measure is Calculated

Numerator:Number of deaths from the specified cause
Denominator:Total population

How Are We Doing?

Heart Disease, the leading cause of death in 2016, accounted for 20.7% of all deaths in the state, followed by Malignant Neoplasms (Cancer) with 19.5% and Unintentional Injuries at 8.1%.

Health Program Information

For information on leading causes of death by county, visit the "Quick Facts" pages in the NM-IBIS Community Health Highlights reports by county, here: [http://ibis.health.state.nm.us/community/highlight/Selection.html].

Indicator Data Last Updated On 11/09/2022, Published on 11/09/2022
Community Health Assessment Program, Epidemiology and Response Division, New Mexico Department of Health, 1190 S. Saint Francis Drive, P.O. Box 26110, Santa Fe, NM, 87502. Contact Rena Manning at rena.manning@doh.nm.gov