In proportionate mortality rate calculations, which component is derived from death data?

• A. The total population at risk
• B. The exposure prevalence
• C. The number of deaths due to the specific cause
• D. The age-specific incidence rate

Answer: (C)

Proportionate mortality rate relies on death data to show how deaths are distributed across causes in a population over a period. The part that comes directly from those death records for a specific cause is the number of deaths attributed to that cause, which serves as the numerator in the calculation. This tells you how many people died from that cause relative to all deaths. The denominator—total deaths from all causes—also comes from death data, but the element most tied to the specific cause is that count of deaths from that cause. The other options reflect data from populations or incidence data, not death counts, and aren’t the components used to form the proportion attributable to a specific cause.