Which term describes the rate of death in a population?

Which term describes the rate of death in a population?

• A. Morbidity
• B. Mortality
• C. Prevalence
• D. Incidence

Answer: (B)

Mortality is the rate at which deaths occur in a population. It’s typically expressed as deaths per 1,000 or per 100,000 people per year, reflecting how likely people in that population are to die during a given time period. This differs from morbidity, which refers to illness or disease burden; prevalence, which counts all existing cases at a moment in time; and incidence, which counts new cases that develop over a period. For example, if a town of 50,000 people sees 250 deaths in a year, the mortality rate is 250 divided by 50,000, or 5 per 1,000 per year. (Note that case fatality rate is a related idea that measures deaths among those diagnosed with a particular condition, not the general population.)

Mortality is the rate at which deaths occur in a population. It’s typically expressed as deaths per 1,000 or per 100,000 people per year, reflecting how likely people in that population are to die during a given time period. This differs from morbidity, which refers to illness or disease burden; prevalence, which counts all existing cases at a moment in time; and incidence, which counts new cases that develop over a period. For example, if a town of 50,000 people sees 250 deaths in a year, the mortality rate is 250 divided by 50,000, or 5 per 1,000 per year. (Note that case fatality rate is a related idea that measures deaths among those diagnosed with a particular condition, not the general population.)