___________________________________________________________________________________________ *Corresponding author: Email: hcaf_rod@yahoo.co.uk; British Journal of Medicine & Medical Research 4(16): 3196-3207, 2014 SCIENCEDOMAIN international www.sciencedomain.org Unexpected Single-year-of-age Changes in the Elderly Mortality Rate in England and Wales During 2012 Rodney P. Jones 1* 1 Healthcare Analysis and Forecasting, Honister Walk, Camberley, UK. Author’s contribution This whole work was carried out by author RPJ. Received 17 th January 2014 Accepted 1 st March 2014 Published 19 th March 2014 ABSTRACT Aims: To evaluate single-year-of-age specificity in deaths in England and Wales associated with a large, unexpected and unexplained increase in 2012. To demonstrate that this type of event has occurred previously across the entire UK. To demonstrate that infectious-like spread at a regional level in England may be involved. Study Design: Longitudinal study of annual (calendar year) deaths (all-cause mortality) in the United Kingdom and England and Wales using publically available statistics available from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Place and Duration of Study: United Kingdom, England & Wales, local authorities within England & Wales covering a variety of time spans designed to illustrate various key points. Methodology: Deaths between 1974 and 2012 in the United Kingdom. Live population and deaths for residents of England and Wales and of English local authorities. Calculation of single-year-of-age death rates in 2011 and 2012 which are the years before and after the large and unexpected increase in deaths. Results: A recurring series of infectious-like events can be demonstrated which prior to 2000 had been largely assumed to be due to influenza epidemics. The event in 2012 shows specificity for the elderly particularly above age 75, which is somewhat expected given increased susceptibility to the environment as we age. The single year of age mortality rate shows saw tooth behavior for deaths in 2011 and even more exaggerated saw tooth behavior is seen in the difference between 2011 and 2012. Similar saw tooth behavior is seen in the difference between single-year-of-age standardized admissions Original Research Article