KDHE releases Annual Summary of Vital Statistics
Kansas suicide rates increase, teen pregnancy rates decrease

Unintentional injury and violence (suicide and homicide) accounted for over six percent (6.4%) of all deaths recorded for Kansans in 2002. The 1,597 external cause deaths are among the 24,968 deaths analyzed in the 2002 Kansas Annual Summary of Vital Statistics released today by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s Center for Health and Environmental Statistics.

The most common single external cause of death in 2002 was motor-vehicle deaths (547), followed by suicide (346) and falls (170). Unintentional injury and violent deaths account for nearly 50 (49.2) percent of deaths for those 1-44 years of age.

“We are concerned about an increase in suicide deaths,” said KDHE State Registrar and Center Director Dr. Lorne Phillips. “There was a 16.5 percent increase in the number of suicide deaths over 2001.”

The 2002 age-adjusted death rate for suicide was 12.6 per 1,000 standard U.S. 2000 population, an increase of 13.5 percent from the 2001 rate of 11.1.

Information on deaths is just part of the wealth of information provided in the Kansas Annual Summary of Vital Statistics. The Center prepares the summary as part of KDHE's fundamental responsibility for assessing the health of Kansas residents.

The data compiled are used by program managers and policy makers at state and local levels to address health concerns. Analysis of trend data, county data, and a comparison of Kansas to the nation are included in this report. Additional findings include:

• There were 39,338 live births and 282 infant deaths to Kansas residents in 2002. This resulted in an infant mortality rate of 7.2 deaths per 1,000 live births and was a decrease of 1.4 percent from the infant mortality rate of 7.3 in 2001.
• The teen pregnancy rate continued to decline in 2002. The pregnancy rate for females ages 10-19 decreased 18.7 percent from 34.8 pregnancies per 1,000 in 1992 to 28.3 in 2002. Teen pregnancy rates for females ages 10-17 decreased 26.6 percent during this same time frame. Teen pregnancies are defined as the sum of live births, fetal deaths, and abortions.
• The abortion ratio for Kansas residents in 2002 was 160.1 per 1,000 live births, a decrease of 2.7 percent from the 164.6 ratio in 1992. Ratios increased from 1991 to a high of 186.3 in 1996, and then generally declined for the next six years.
• The out of wedlock birth ratio has continued an upward trend over the years in both Kansas and the U.S. Out-of-wedlock births comprised 30.8 percent of all live births that occurred to Kansas residents in 2002, a 26.7 percent increase from 24.3 percent of live births in 1992. The out-of-wedlock birth ratio in 2002 was 8.9 percent lower than the U.S. proportion (33.8 percent) of births to unmarried women.
• The average age at death of Kansas residents in 2002 was 74.4 years. The average age at death for males was 70.3 years, for females 78.0. The average age at death for blacks was 64.1 years compared to 75.1 for whites.
• The age-adjusted death rate for the leading cause of death, heart disease, was 219.2, and for cancer, the second leading cause of death, the age-adjusted death rate was 187.5 per 100,000 standard U.S. 2000 population.
• Together, these two causes accounted for almost 50 percent of all Kansas resident deaths.
• Couples in Kansas had fewer marriages and divorces in 2002, continuing a general downward trend. In 2002, 19,783 marriages occurred in Kansas, a decrease of 3.3 percent from the 2001 total of 20,457. The marriage rate (7.3 per 1,000 population) decreased 16.1 percent from the 1992 rate of 8.7. A long downward trend in Kansas marriage dissolutions that begin in the early 1990s continued in 2002. The 9,654 divorces and annulments represented a 2.4 percent decrease compared to the 2001 figure of 9,885 dissolutions. The marriage dissolution rate (3.6) was 26.5 percent lower than the 1992 rate of 4.9.

The 2002 Annual Summary is available in a PDF format at the KDHE Web site, http://www.kdheks.gov/hci/annsumm.html. Requests for single, printed copies of the Annual Summary of Vital Statistics should be made to the KDHE, Center for Health and Environmental Statistics, Office of Health Care Information at 785-296-8627. (Note to reporters: A table containing selected vital statistics is attached).

Selected Vital Event Rates and Ratios
Kansas, 2001-2002

Residence data is presented for births and deaths.

Occurrence data is presented for marriages, divorces, and annulments.

Back to KDHE News Release Index