Why Is This Important?

In a typical year, about 40% of all deaths among New Jersey residents are of persons aged 65-84 years.

Definition

Deaths among persons aged 65 through 84 years

Data Sources

• Death Certificate Database, Office of Vital Statistics and Registry, New Jersey Department of Health
  (https://www.nj.gov/health/vital/)
• Population Estimates, State Data Center, New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development
  (https://www.nj.gov/labor/labormarketinformation/demographics/population-household-estimates/)
• Underlying Cause of Death, CDC WONDER On-line Database, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
  (https://wonder.cdc.gov/Deaths-by-Underlying-Cause.html)

How the Measure is Calculated

How Are We Doing?

The death rate among those aged 65-84 years had been steadily declining but the COVID-19 pandemic caused the rate to climb 29% between 2019 and 2020, reaching a level not seen since 2007. The rate declined 16% in 2021 but remained above the pre-pandemic rate. Between 2019 and 2020, the death rate among persons aged 65-84 years rose 77% among Hispanics, 62% among Asians, 45% among Blacks, and 19% among Whites and then, in 2021, declined 30% among Hispanics, 25% among Blacks, 23% among Asians, and 11% among Whites. In 2021, the leading causes of death among adults aged 65-84 years were cancer, heart disease, COVID-19, stroke, chronic lower respiratory diseases, and diabetes.

How Do We Compare With the U.S.?

The death rate among New Jersey residents aged 65-84 years had been significantly lower than the national rate from 2002 through 2019, with the gap widening in that time. In 2020, New Jersey's rate rose above the US rate due to the early onset of COVID-19 in New Jersey. In 2021, the New Jersey rate declined back below the US rate.

Available Services

The [http://nj.gov/health/ces/public/resources/njceed.shtml New Jersey Cancer Education and Early Detection Program] provides breast, cervical, colorectal and prostate cancer education, outreach, screenings, case management, and follow-up services to low-income, uninsured, and underinsured residents of the state.

More Resources

Cancer: [https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/] Heart Disease: [https://www.cdc.gov/heart-disease/about/index.html] COVID-19: [https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/] Stroke: [https://www.cdc.gov/stroke/about/index.html] COPD: [https://www.cdc.gov/copd/index.html] Diabetes: [https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/index.html]

Health Program Information

NJDOH Cancer Initiatives: [http://nj.gov/health/ces/] NJDOH Chronic Disease Prevention & Control Services: [http://www.state.nj.us/health/fhs/chronic/index.shtml] NJDOH COVID-19 info: [https://www.nj.gov/health/cd/topics/ncov.shtml]