Deaths: final data for 2007.

Objectives-This report presents final 2007 data on U.S. deaths, death rates, life expectancy, infant and maternal mortality, and trends by selected characteristics such as age, sex, Hispanic origin, race, marital status, educational attainment, injury at work, state of residence, and cause of death. Methods-Information reported on death certificates, which are completed by funeral directors, attending physicians, medical examiners, and coroners, is presented in descriptive tabulations. The original records are filed in state registration offices. Statistical information is compiled in a national database through the Vital Statistics Cooperative Program of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics. Causes of death are processed in accordance with the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision. Results-In 2007, a total of 2,423,712 deaths were reported in the United States. The age-adjusted death rate was 760.2 deaths per 100,000 standard population, a decrease of 2.1 percent from the 2006 rate and a record low historical figure. Life expectancy at birth rose 0.2 year, from a 2006 value of 77.7 years to a record 77.9 in 2007. Age-specific death rates decreased for most age groups-15-24, 35-44, 45-54, 55-64, 65-74, 75-84, and 85 and over-and remained unchanged for the age groups of under age 1, 1-4, 5-14, and 25-34. The 15 leading causes of death in 2007 remained the same as in 2006 with the exception of two causes that exchanged ranks. Alzheimer's disease, the seventh leading cause of death in 2006, became the sixth leading cause in 2007, and Diabetes mellitus, the sixth leading cause in 2006, dropped to the seventh leading cause in 2007. Heart disease and cancer continued to be the leading and second-leading causes of death, respectively, together accounting for almost one-half of all deaths (48.6 percent). The infant mortality rate in 2007 was 6.75 deaths per 1,000 live births. Conclusions-Mortality patterns in 2007, such as the decline in the age-adjusted death rate to a record historical low, were generally consistent with long-term trends. Life expectancy reached a record high in 2007, increasing 0.2 year from 2006.