According to the 1980 Census, the United States population was approximately 226,540,000 in 1980. It grew to approximately 323,120,000 at the beginning of 2016. Using Census data for 1980 and estimates derived from mortality data for 2016, we arrive at the population estimates given in the table below:
The table below provides the year, total population, and population estimates for three age categories.
Year Total Population Ages 15 – 24 Ages 25 – 44 Ages 45-64
1980 226,540,000 42,475,000 62,707,000 44,497,000
2016 323,120,000 43,500,000 85,150,000 84,300,000
The National Center for Health Statistics published a document entitled “Health, United States, 2015: With Special Feature on Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities” that includes a table listing the leading causes of death in 1980 by age bracket. The CDC further produced a National Vital Statistics Reports that provided similar information for the year 2016.
Using the Causes of Death in 1980 and 2016 spreadsheet located under the Discussion: Causes of Death in 1980 and 2016 Resources, you will find the leading causes of death in both 1980 and 2016 for the three age categories. Each of the first 3 questions has both a computational part and a discussion part. To get full credit for each of the discussion parts, please cite a reference to support your claims. This should not be an excessively difficult task: you can easily find information online for most of the illnesses or other causes listed in the report. All you need to do is provide the website you used (though other resources are also permitted if you prefer to use one of those).
Assuming that the population numbers in the above table are relatively accurate, use the Causes of Death in 1980 and 2016 spreadsheet to compute the deaths per 1000 people for each age group in both 1980 and 2016.
Deaths per 1000 people is computed using the formula
Deaths per 1000 = (# of deaths) / (total population of age category)
Do not round your answer to the nearest whole number, provide at least 3 decimal places (but no more than 5).
Give these 6 values (e.g. deaths per 1000 people for ages 15–24 in 1980) and then cite a reference to discuss what might account for the changes between the deaths per 1000 in 1 of these 3 age categories between 1980 and 2016.
Besides the changes in the overall death rate in the past 3 decades, the leading causes of death vary somewhat between 1980 and 2016. Choose 1 of the 3 age ranges and select 1 cause of death from the Discussion Data spreadsheet that strikes you as noteworthy and that appears in both the 1980 and 2016 lists. For the cause of death that you selected, compute the number of deaths per 1000 in both 1980 and 2016 for your chosen age group. Do not round your answer to the nearest whole number, provide at least 3 decimal places. Cite a reference to discuss the possible reasons for any changes in the rates over this period.
Not only do the leading causes of death vary across time, but they also vary significantly for different age ranges. Looking only at the 2016 data, choose a cause of death that appears in both the 25–44 and 45–64 age categories and compute the number of deaths per 1000 people for both age categories. Do not round your answer to the nearest whole number, provide at least 2 decimal places. Cite a reference to discuss a possible reason for any differences in these values as people advance in age.
Contemplating causes of death might strike some people as unpleasant or even morbid. However, the Bible encourages us to give some thought to the fact of our own mortality. Ecclesiastes 7:2–4 says: “It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart. Sorrow is better than laughter, for by sadness of face the heart is made glad. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.” It is interesting to consider why the author of Ecclesiastes encourages the wise to go to the house of mourning and the living to lay the end of all mankind to heart. What value might there be in thinking about the, admittedly uncomfortable, subject of the end of all mankind? What comes to your mind when you consider this topic?
