Cook County Releases Suburban Birth and Death Statistics from 2000 to 2014

Health
Open Data and Transparency
Technology

The Cook County Department of Public Health has released a comprehensive data set of births and deaths in suburban Cook County from 2000 to 2014 through the County’s data portal.

The County Bureau of Technology (BoT), which is an Office under Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, has one of the nation's first county data portals -- data.cookcountyil.gov.

The portal publishes public-facing data on everything from County contracts to maps of warming or cooling centers for extreme weather events. The births and deaths database is an example of collaboration between CCHHS and the BoT to make information available in a machine-readable format that can be used at no cost for a variety of purposes, such as by statisticians and app makers or simply for research.

The public health information, now posted at data.cookcountyil.gov, is broken down by age, ethnicity and other factors. This data was compiled using information from the Illinois Department of Public Health Vital Statistics.

"Making these informative statistics available to the public conforms with our commitment to transparency and accountability,” said President Preckwinkle. “This is another example of how we are using open data as a way of allowing the public easy access to important information.”

“This data allows public health officials and community members alike to evaluate important trends in suburban Cook County,” said Dr. Terry Mason, Chief Operating Officer of the Cook County Department of Public Health. “Information about births, deaths and the changing demographics of our region chronicles the health of suburban Cook County and informs our public health policies.”

Noteworthy trends include:

Declining Teen Birth Rates: A Public Health Success for Suburban Cook County

Using the dynamic filtering options available on the County Open Data Portal, users searching for data on teen births from the Cook County Department of Public Health will discover a decline in teen births in suburban Cook County from 8.4% in 2000 to 4.8% in 2014.

Sugar Sweetened Beverages, Obesity, & Cardiovascular Risk

According to Cook County Department of Public Health’s mortality data available on the Open Data Portal, in 2014, one out of every three deaths (32%) in suburban Cook County was due to cardiovascular disease (CVD). Sweetened beverages are a major contributor to obesity, which is closely linked to CVD.

Possible Link Between Increased Suicide Rates and Economic Recession in suburban Cook County

Users visiting the Cook County’s Open Data Portal can search data from the Cook County Department of Public Health for trends and other health related events. One such trend is suicide rates. 

While the suicide rate in suburban Cook County remained stable from 2000-2011, there was a sharp increase from 2012-2014. Some evidence links this spike in suicides to the preceding economic recession.

Below are links to the datasets:

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