PUBLIC HEALTH
ANNUAL
SUMMARY
OF
VITAL
STATISTICS-I958
Myron E. Wegman, M.D.
Pan American Sanitary Bureau, World Jlealtlz Organization
Marriages
per 1,000 populationMARRIAGES (FIG. I)
Is
‘3
II
9
I
5
0
J F N A 4 J
ADDRESS: 1501 New Hampshire Avenue, NW., Washington 6, I).C.
AS
Ftc. 1.
0 ND
1108
PEmATlucs, Deceiiiber 1939
P
IIELIMINARY DATA for 1958 indicate thatfor the second successive year infant
Illortality’ in tile United States increased
shgiltlv over the year before. In 1957, for
tile first time in many years, tilere was an
interruption in the steady and consistent
decline in illfallt mortality, which had been
continuous over tile preceding 20 years.
Eacil y’ear the National Office of Vital
Statistics devotes one issue of its Mont/il!1
Vital Statistics Report to a review of tile
Provisional data of tile previous year. For
1958 tilis iS pui)hshed in Volume 7, No. 13,
%farcil 12, 1959, alld is, as usual, based on
summaries of monthly reports of tile
num-bers of birth and death certificates and
mar-riage licenses \vllicll have been received ill
tile registration offices throughout tile
coun-try. These provisional rates in past years
Ilave (liffered ‘ery little from final figures,
vhich are based on analysis of the actual
CopieS of certificates sent by the
registra-tion offices to the National Office of Vital
Statistics for events occurring in the
report-ing year.
Infant mortality was the only rate for
vital events increasing in 1958. Tile birth
rate decreased by 2.8%, the total death rate
l)y 1, an(l tile marriage rate by 6.7%.
A decrease in the marriage rate at this
time was not unexpected as tile low birth
rates of the 1930’s and tile high 1)irth rates
of tile post-war y’ears have lowered the
pro-Portion of the population which is at
marry-ing ages. In addition, the effects of the
busi-ness recession in 1958 may have reduced tile
number of marriages during tile year. Not
(lilly was the marriage rate of 8.3 per 1,000
PoP11lati1l almost 7% lower than in 1957,
hut the 1,445,000 marriages were fewer in
number than in any year since 1944. This
decrease will have obvious implications for
tile birth rate in future years.
J
une was tile highest mOntil and Augustthe second, maintaining the usual seasonal
pattern. However, in every month except
October and November, tilere were fewer
marriages than in the corresponding month
of 1957.
BIRTHS (FIG.
2)Tile birth rate for 1958 of 24.3 per 1,000
l)0P1lation was 8.6% lower than tile peak
year of 1947 and 2.8% lower than 1957. Since
1947, tile birth rate has ranged between 24.1
and 25.3 per 1,000 population and the 1958
rate is near tile lover limit of this range.
The decline in the birtil rate after 1956 is
Ilaturally related in part to tile decline in
marriages.
The fertility rate, that is, tile ilumber of
live births per 1,000 females 15 to 44 years
in-oLi I#{149}i i i I
J F N A N J J A S 0 ND
FIG. 2.
Deaths
per 1,000 population
CONTRIBUTORS’ SECTION 1109
Births
per 000 population
creasing (fronl 106.2 in 1950 to 122.5 in
1957), was also lower in 1958 (119.9).
Never-tllelesS, tile Ilunlber of registered live births
in 1958, 4,204,000, was the second highest
in the history of the United States, second
OIlly to the 4,254,000 registered in 1957.
The decrease in the birth rate was
ap-parent in nloSt geographic regions of the
United States. In all of tile 12 months tile
birth rate was less tilan in the
correspond-ing month of tile previous year.
DEATHS
(FIG. 3)
Ill tile ieriocl 1954-1956, the crude death
rate in tile United States was tile lowest on
record. During these years there was no
gelleral outbreak of respiratory disease. The
ailnual death rate for 1957 of 9.6 per 1,000
2
0
9
a
7
population was above those of the previous
:3years, probably related in part to tile
out-i)reak of influenza in 1957 whicil influenced
the rise in the crude (leath rate during the
last 3 months of that year. The increased
mortality in late 1957 c’olltinued on tilrOugh
April 1958 but the annual rate for 1958 (9.5
per 1,000) was in tile end sligiltly less tilan
that for 1957 altilough still above that for
the record low period of 1954-1956. From
May through December 1958 rates were
consistently lower than in the corresponding
months in 1957 and close to those for tile
same montils in 1956.
A small decrease from 1957 to 1958
ap-peared in most of the nine large geograpilic
divisions of the country and in most states.
INFANT
MORTALITY
(FIG. 4)
In tile past year tile infant mortality rate
was 26.9 per 1,000 live birtils, tile highest
since 1953, and an increase of about 2%
above the 1957 rate of 26.4; this, as has
been noted, was higher than the rate of 26.1
in 1956. The outbreak of influenza during
the fall, winter and spring of 1957-58 does
not appear to be as associated with the rise
in infant mortality as it was with total
mor-tality. In every month of 1958, except
Jan-uary and November, infant mortality was
higher than in tile corresponding month of
the previous year. In the later months of
1958 tilere was no general outbreak of
in-fluenza but in tile corresponding months of
InFant deaths
.lreu Number 1958 NF:v ENcILANI). Maine. New Hampshire. %ermont Massachusetts Rhode Island Connecticut MIDDLE ATLANTIC New York New Jersey Pennsylvania
EAST NORTh CENTRAL ...
Ohio
Indiana
Illinois Michigan Wisconsin
WEST NoRTh CENTRAL ....
Minnesota Iowa Missouri North l)akota South I)akota Nebraska Kansas SOUTH AmANTI 1)elaware Maryland
1)istrict of Columhia ... Virginia \Vest Virginia North Carolina South Carolina Georgia Florida
EAST SouTh CENTRAL
Kentucky
Tennessee
Alabama
Mississippi
407
1
,
29818
,
238 8,874 3 ,t)1’26,352
21 341
5,746
2,720 3
,
763 4,943 2,1698
,
812I ,917 I,405 2,706 429 470 712 1,173 19,576 315 2,079 I ,003 ‘2,878
1,124 3,692 2,048 3,016 3
,
42110,220
2,176 2,667
2,912 2, 465
Per Cent (‘hanqe
Rate -
-19)1 to 198
1957 1958 1957 .‘s’zimber Rate
558 22.4 -5.4 -11.3
347 24.4 6.3 -6.1 -7.9 244 23.4 7.3 -11.5 -14.3
449 21.6 ‘22.8 -9.4 -5.3
1,217 23.6 21.8 +6.7 +8.3
17,840 4.7 +2. +2.1 8,626 24.5 23.9 +2.1) +2.3
2,952 24.2 23.7 +2.0 +2.1
6,262 25.4 24.1) +1.4 +2.0
21,697 24.5 24.2 -1(1 +1.2 5,809 24.5 23.9 -1.1 +‘2.5
2,729 24.4 23.8 -0.3 +2.5
5,950 25.2 25.2 -3.1 0
5,089 24.5 24.5 -2.1) 0 2,120 22.6 22.1 +2.3 +2.3
8,363 24.0 22.6 +5.4 +6.2
1,907 22.6 22.5 +0.5 +0.4
1,327 22.3 20.6 +5.1) +8.3
2,397 26.4 23.1 +12.9 +14.3
443 25.8 2(i.7 -3.2 -3.4
485 26.6 27.1 -3.1 -1.8
655 22.0 20.1 +8.7 +9.5
1,149 23.5 22.6 +2.1 +4.0
19,246 31.1 30.3 +1.7 +2.0 269 26.8 22.6 +17.1 +18.6 2,019 30.1) 29.7 +3.0 +4.0
931 29.4 ‘27.9 +7.7 +5.4
2,884 31.4 31.2 -0.2 +0.6
1,160 25.2 25.7 -3.1 -1.9
3,612 33.3 31.8 +2.2 +4.7 1,910 33.9 30.4 +7.2 +11.5
3,144 29.9 30.4 -4.1 -1.6
3,317 31.7 31.9 +3.1 -0.6
9,878 34.1 32.3 +3.5 ±5.6
2,2()1 29.4 29.3 -1.1 +0.3 2,646 31.6 31.0 +0.8 +1.9
2,703 35.5 32.3 +7.7 +1)1)
2,328 41.4 38.0 ±5.1) ±8.1) TABLE I
INFANT l):ATlls ANI) 1tATES: EArl! REP()IITING AIIKA, 1957 AND 11)38
( By plaee (if ()CC11TfleC. Excludes fetal deaths. Infant mortality rates are deaths titider I year per 1,()OO tue births in each area.)
.lrea .\unzber Rate Per (‘ent (lianqe
1957 ti 1958
1958 1957 1!)sS 1957 .Vtt,nher &ite
WETSOtTll (l.:NTn..I. 12,293 12,221 28.6 28.1 +1)6 +1.8
Arkansas 1,047 1,062 25.2 24.8 -1.4 +1.6
1OtliSiillla 3,113 2,1)13 34.6 32.1 +6.9 +7.8
Oklahoma 1 377 1 21)1) 27.6 25.5 -l-6.() +8.!
Texas 6,756 6,947 27.2 27.7 -2.7 -1.8
MOUNTAIN 5,366 5,255 21)1) 29.5 +2.1 +1.4
MOlttalll 435 461 25.5 25.6 -5.6 -0.4
Idaho 374 389 22.5 23.6 -3.9 -4.7
Wyonling 223 202 28.0 24.9 +10.4 +12.4
Colorado 1,322 1,229 30.6 28.6 +7.6 +7.0
New \1(’Xi(() 1,063 1,063 37.9 38.8 1) -2.3
Arizona 1 129 1
,
135 33.8 35.2 -0.5 -4.()Italt 605 571 ‘23.1 22.0 +6.0 +5.0
Nevada 215 205 31.9 30.8 +4.9 +3.6
PACIFIC 10,937 11,167 24.5 24.4 -2.1 +0.4
Washington 1,668 1,616 25.9 24.7 +3.2 +4.9 Oregon 849 837 23.6 ‘22.4 +1.4 +5.4 California 8,420 8,714 24.3 24.5 -3.4 -0.8
UNITEDSTATES* 113,100 111,900 26.9 26.4 +1.1 +1.9
CONTRIBUTORS’ SECTION
TABLE I-(Gontinued)
Infant Deatli..u ( un(!er 1 s/ear)
* Numerical total also estimated because of absence of figures for one state.
1111
1957 in which infant mortality was lower,
influenza was fairly widespread.
In general, the seasonal pattern of infant
mortality resembles that of total mortality
but with proportionately greater seasonal
changes. The fairly consistent increases in
infant mortality in most months in 1958, not
just in months when respiratory disease was
most frequent, suggest that other causes
than the direct or indirect effects of
respira-tory infections may be responsible for the
increase in infant deaths.
In 31 states infant mortality increased in
1958 (Table I). These states represented all
nine geographic regions and included states
with both relatively good and poor infant
mortality records in 1957 and 1958. The
rates for 1958 in the 31 states with increased
infant mortality ranged from 22.0 in
Ne-braska to 41.4 111 Mississippi, increases of
9.5 and 8.9% above their respective rates for
1957. The rates for 1958 in the 17 states
showing no change or decreased mortality
ranged from 21.6 in Rhode Island to 37.9 in
New Mexico, decreases of 5.3 and 2.3%
below their respective rates for 1957.
CONCLUSION
Between 1900 and 1956 the average
cx-pectation of life at birth increased from 49
to 70 years. Of this increase of 21 years, 5
were added as a result of the decrease in
infant mortality alone. An additional
de-crease of 3 years, in the same period, was
due to the lowered mortality of children
1 to 4 years of age.
It is to be hoped that the slight increase
in infant mortality in the past 2 years is just
a temporary setback. With available
mcdi-cal knowledge there is every reason to look
forward to further reductions in future
