U.S. County-Level Drug Poisoning Mortality Rates with Confidence Intervals

NCHS data describes drug poisoning deaths at U.S. and state levels by demographic characteristics and includes age-adjusted death rates. Estimates are based on National Vital Statistics System mortality files and ICD-10 cause-of-death codes. The dataset was last updated on April 21, 2025.

Use Cases

• Analyze trends in Model-based Death Rate by County and Year to identify high-risk regions.
• Assess uncertainty in mortality estimates using Lower Confidence Limit and Upper Confidence Limit columns for specific states.
• Compare drug poisoning mortality across Urban/Rural Category classifications.
• Map mortality rates by FIPS or FIPS State codes for geographic visualization.
• Investigate potential underreporting by cross-referencing Year and State with known issues like New Jersey in 2009.

Strengths

• Includes Model-based Death Rate with Standard Deviation and confidence intervals for uncertainty quantification.
• Covers geographic granularity down to the County level with FIPS codes for joins.
• Data is sourced from the authoritative National Vital Statistics System mortality files.

Limitations

• Death rates for some states and years may be underestimated due to unresolved cases or ICD-10 code misclassification.
• Sample size and total row count are unknown, limiting assessment of statistical power.
• Population estimates for computing rates vary between census and intercensal years.

Provenance

Source

data.cdc.gov / National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS).

Collection Method

Calculated from National Vital Statistics System multiple cause-of-death mortality files using ICD-10 codes.

Time Range

Covers years up to 2017, with notes on specific years like 2005 and 2009.

Freshness

Updated on April 21, 2025.

Geography

United States, with State, County, and Census Division granularity.