What is Mortality?
Updated January 21, 2015.
Definition:
The term mortality means death. When used in reference to a disease or harmful exposure (such as to radiation, or dangerous chemicals) in a statistical context, it is usually expressed as the number of deaths due to that condition during a specific time period.
Though it is often used interchangeably with the term mortality rate, they mean different things. Mortality is an absolute number of deaths, whereas mortality rate is the risk of dying during a given period of time.
Example: In Canada in 2012, there were 26,500 cases of prostate cancer. There were 4,000 deaths, therefore the mortality due to prostate cancer was 4,000 that year.
By contrast, the 2012 mortality rate or death rate of prostate cancer in men in Canada was 19 per 100,000. That means 19 out of every 100,000 adult men in the general population (including those with or without prostate cancer) died of prostate cancer in 2012.
Source:
Prostate Cancer Statistics at a Glance. Canadian Cancer Society Public Information Sheet. Accessed March 13, 2013.
http://www.cancer.ca/Canada-wide/About%20cancer/Cancer%20statistics/Stats%20at%20a%20glance/Prostate%20cancer.aspx?sc_lang=en
International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) Glossary of Terms used in Toxicology. US Department of Health and Human Services Public Information Sheet. Accessed March 13, 2013.
http://sis.nlm.nih.gov/enviro/iupacglossary/glossarym.html
Also Known As: Death or deaths
Definition:
The term mortality means death. When used in reference to a disease or harmful exposure (such as to radiation, or dangerous chemicals) in a statistical context, it is usually expressed as the number of deaths due to that condition during a specific time period.
Though it is often used interchangeably with the term mortality rate, they mean different things. Mortality is an absolute number of deaths, whereas mortality rate is the risk of dying during a given period of time.
Example: In Canada in 2012, there were 26,500 cases of prostate cancer. There were 4,000 deaths, therefore the mortality due to prostate cancer was 4,000 that year.
By contrast, the 2012 mortality rate or death rate of prostate cancer in men in Canada was 19 per 100,000. That means 19 out of every 100,000 adult men in the general population (including those with or without prostate cancer) died of prostate cancer in 2012.
Source:
Prostate Cancer Statistics at a Glance. Canadian Cancer Society Public Information Sheet. Accessed March 13, 2013.
http://www.cancer.ca/Canada-wide/About%20cancer/Cancer%20statistics/Stats%20at%20a%20glance/Prostate%20cancer.aspx?sc_lang=en
International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) Glossary of Terms used in Toxicology. US Department of Health and Human Services Public Information Sheet. Accessed March 13, 2013.
http://sis.nlm.nih.gov/enviro/iupacglossary/glossarym.html
Also Known As: Death or deaths
Source...