New York City Death Rate Reaches Historic Low

The Annual Summary 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

In 2006, 125,506 babies were born in New York City, an increase of nearly 3,000 over the 2005 total. The 2.3% increase fell short of the 3% rise seen nationally, but it marked the biggest baby boom New York City has seen since 1988. The number of live births to teenagers increased by 1.3%. The Bronx had the highest number of teen births with 2,514 babies -- 11.8% of the borough-wide total was born to teenagers. Teen births were less common in the city's other boroughs, accounting for 7% of the total in Brooklyn, 6.1% in Queens, 6% in Staten Island, and 5.8% in Manhattan. The Health Department, through its Healthy Teens Initiative, is working with health care providers to improve access to contraception and reproductive health care.

The new report shows a continuing decline in the infant mortality rate (the proportion of children who die before their first birthday each year). The citywide rate has fallen by 16.9% in the past 10 years, from 7.1 per 1,000 live births in 1997 to 5.9 in 2006, but that figure masks sharp racial and economic disparities. Black babies remain twice as likely to die in the first year of life as white babies, and in the Bronx, one of the nation's poorest areas, the infant mortality rate was 7.1 deaths per 1,000 births in 2006, up from 6.3 in 2005. The national infant mortality rate was 6.8 per 1,000 in 2004, the most recent year on record.

The leading causes of infant mortality, both in New York City and nationally, are birth defects, premature birth and low birth weight. The Health Department is taking steps to reduce infant mortality and address its disparate impact by expanding its Nurse-Family Partnership program, a home-visiting program for low income, first-time mothers; offering home visits to families with new babies in parts of Harlem, Brooklyn and the Bronx; promoting breastfeeding through the Breastfeeding Initiative; providing portable cribs and safe-sleep education through the New York City Safe Sleep Initiative; and supporting access to contraceptive services to help prevent unplanned pregnancies, known to increase the risk of infant mortality.

Other Highlights of the 2006 Vital Statistics Summary

• Heat-related deaths rose from 6 in 2005 to 49 in 2006, the result of two summer heat waves.
• The number of deaths from exposure to cold fell from 16 in 2005 to 9 in 2006.
• Fatal occupational injuries increased from 88 in 2005 to 99 in 2006, attributable to an increase in construction-related injuries. The annual number has hovered near 100 since reporting started in 1996.
• Deaths due to chronic lung disease decreased by 12.3% from 2005 to 2006.
• There were 200 fewer alcohol-attributable deaths in adults aged 20 and older, which decreased 12%, from 1,771 in 2001 to 1,563 in 2006.

Vital Statistics Annual Summaries are now available online as far back as 1961 at: http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/html/vs/vs.shtml.

The Annual Summary of Vital Statistics is the Health Department's yearly report of births, deaths and other vital events in New York City. It is compiled by the agency's Bureau of Vital Statistics. Tables, graphs, and figures provide New York City health statistics according to ethnic group, gender, age, health-center district, community district and borough of residence. Death rates are age-adjusted to facilitate comparisons over time and among geographic areas.