National Longitudinal Mortality Study (NLMS)

The National Longitudinal Mortality Study (NLMS) consists of a database developed for the purpose of studying the effects of demographic and socio-economic characteristics on differentials in U.S. mortality rates. The NLMS is a unique research database in that it is based on a random sample of the non-institutionalized population of the United States. It consists of Annual Social and Economic Supplements which cover the period from March 1973 to March 2011, Current Population Surveys for February 1978, April 1980, August 1980, December 1980, and September 1985, and one 1980 Census cohort, 39 cohorts in all. These are combined with death certificate information to identify mortality status and cause of death. The study currently consists of approximately 3.8 million records with over 550,000 identified mortality cases. This project has generated over 90 publications in various prominent scholarly, scientific, and public health related journals.