Which statement best defines mortality in this context?

• A. The proportion of population that dies during a time period
• B. The number of deaths during a period within a specified population
• C. The rate of new cancer cases per year
• D. The number of disease cases in a given year

Answer: (B)

Mortality is about deaths occurring in a population over a defined time period. The statement that best defines it is the one that specifies the actual number of deaths happening during that period within the given population. This focuses on the count of deaths in a set time frame, which is the core idea behind mortality.

In practice, you often turn that count into a rate by dividing by the population size (and usually by time) to compare across groups or over time. This is different from incidence, which is about new cases of a disease, or prevalence, which is the total number of existing cases at a point or over a period.