AADRs per 100,000 U.S. standard population were computed for each year in each state for deceased public mental health clients who had received public mental health system services during their year of death. These mental health client AADRs were compared with the yearly statewide AADRs published in the National Vital Statistics Reports from the National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (11-18). According to the reports, "Age-adjusted rates are used to compare relative mortality risks among groups and over time. However, they should be viewed as relative indexes rather than as actual measures of mortality risk" (15).
