Which term describes rates that are adjusted for race, age, and gender, and may also account for cause of death or combinations?

• A. Incidence rate
• B. Mortality rate
• C. Specific rate
• D. Crude rate

Answer: (C)

Rates that are calculated for a defined subgroup—such as by race, age, or gender—are called specific rates. This approach focuses on a particular segment of the population, so the rate reflects what happens within that subgroup rather than across the entire population. You can also compute specific rates for subgroups defined by additional factors, like cause of death, or combinations of characteristics, which lets you see more precise patterns within those groups. This is different from crude rates, which mix everyone together and don’t account for differences in the population’s composition. Incidence and mortality rates describe the event being counted (new cases or deaths) but aren’t by themselves the subgroup-focused concept; the subgroup-specific framing is what makes it a specific rate.