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Death rates for males (66.2 per 100,000) were higher than for females (51.4 per 100,000). Rates of child death in Oregon were higher for whites (60.4 per 100,000) than non-whites (53.2 per 100,000). See Figure 1.

Manner of Death
In general, children under age 1 die in a different manner than percent of the deaths among children less than 1 were due to natural causes. These natural causes are predominantly congenital anomalies, perinatal conditions and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Because we do not understand the causes and risks for SIDS cases, unexpected infant deaths present special challenges to investigators. For a discussion of unexpected infant death see the Special Topics Section. The infant death rate due to natural causes is 540 per 100,000 as compared to the unintentional injury rate of 22.1 and the homicide rate of 8.9. By contrast, most deaths (57%) among children aged 1 and older are due to unintentional and intentional injury. One in two children aged 1-17 who died in Oregon in 1999 died from an unintentional injury, while one in nine children died from an intentional injury (e.g., suicide or homicide). Injury deaths (including unintentional injury, homicide and suicide) account for 49% (25) of deaths among children aged 1-4, 38% (16) of deaths among children aged 5-9, 57% (32) of deaths among youth aged 10-14 and 74% (50) of deaths among youth aged 15-17. Unintentional injury is the leading type of death in every age group over age 1. Suicide emerges as a serious injury threat at age 10 and is the second most common type of death among children aged 10-17. See Figure 2

Cause of Death
The causes of death follow a pattern that mirrors the manner of death. Under age 1 death rates are highest due to perinatal conditions (270.0 per 100,000), congenital anomalies (172.6) and SIDS (46.5). The leading cause of injury death in children less than 1 year is suffocation (13.3). Death rates in this section are per 100,000 population.

TABLE 1. DEATHS AND DEATH RATES*
AMONG CHILDREN LESS THAN 1 BY SELECTED CAUSES, OREGON, 1999

Cause of Death	Frequency (%)	Rate per 100,000
Perinatal Conditions	122 (45)	270.0
Congenital Anomalies	78 (29)	172.6
SIDS	21 (8)	46.5
Suffocation	6 (2)	13.3
Shaken Baby	4 (1.5)	*
Motor Vehicle	2 (0.7)	*
Fire	2 (0.7)	*
Drowning	1 (0.3)	*
Firearm	0 (0)	*
All Other	37 (14)	81.8
Total	273 (100)	604.0
Source: Preliminary Oregon Death Certificates and Child Fatality Review Data *Rates for frequencies less than 5 are suppressed. Rates are calculated using resident and nonresident deaths occurring in Oregon in 1999. Population estimates from Center for Population Research at Portland State University.

By contrast, among children aged 1-17, injury deaths predominate. Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of injury death. Motor vehicle crash (MVC) deaths increase dramatically among youth aged 15-17 as they begin to drive. Firearms emerge as an significant contributor to the injury death rates in youth over 10. In youth aged 10-14 most firearm deaths are unintentional, while among youth aged 15-17 most firearm deaths are suicides. Suffocation death among youth aged 10-17 is due primarily to suicide by hanging. In youth aged 10-17, drowning contributes substantially to the injury death rate. See figure 3: Injury death rates* of children aged 1-17 by age group and selected causes, Oregon,1999 n=120.

Females died in numbers equal or nearly equal to males from suffocation and poisoning. Males died in greater numbers from motor vehicle crashes, firearms and drowning. Two-thirds of the child abuse and neglect deaths were male. Because most of the injury deaths can be prevented, the following sections of this report present descriptions of injury death by major causes.

TABLE 2. DEATHS AND DEATH RATES*
AMONG CHILDREN AGED 1-17 BY SELECTED CAUSES, OREGON, 1999

Cause of Death	Frequency (%)	Rate/100,000
Motor Vehicle Crashes	56 (26)	7.1
Drowning	17(7)	2.2
Firearm	16 (7)	2.0
Suffocation	11 (5)	1.4
Fall	5 (2)	0.6
All Other	96 (44)	12.2
Total	217 (100)	27.6
Source: Preliminary Oregon Death Certificates and Child Fatality Review Data *Rates are calculated using resident and nonresident deaths occurring in Oregon in 1999. Population estimates from Center for Population Research at Portland State University.