Deaths: preliminary data for 2003.

This report presents preliminary U.S. data on deaths, death rates, life expectancy, leading causes of death, and infant mortality for the year 2003 by selected characteristics such as age, sex, race, and Hispanic origin.

Data in this report are based on a large number of deaths comprising approximately 93 percent of the demographic file and 91 percent of the medical file for all deaths in the United States in 2003. The records are weighted to independent control counts for 2003. For certain causes of death such as unintentional injuries, homicides, suicides, and respiratory diseases, preliminary, and final data differ because of the truncated nature of the preliminary file. Comparisons are made with 2002 final data.