mortality

Mortality rate = number of deaths in a population over a specified time period, often per 1,000 or 100,000 person-years. Crude mortality rate uses total population; cause-specific mortality rate uses deaths from a specific disease; case-fatality rate = deaths among diagnosed cases (severity measure). Standardized mortality ratio (SMR) compares observed to expected deaths, adjusted for age. Common boards distinctions: mortality (death) vs morbidity (disease/disability); incidence (new cases) vs prevalence (existing cases); case-fatality (deaths/cases) vs mortality rate (deaths/population). All-cause mortality is the gold-standard hard endpoint in clinical trials.