Leading Causes of Death in the United States by Age
The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that influenza causes more than 20,000 deaths in the United States each year. Combined, influenza and pneumonia are among the nation's ten leading causes of death.
Rank
Cause of death
Number of deaths1
Rate (per 100,000 population)
All causes
2,443,930
840.4
1
Diseases of the heart
684,462
235.4
2
Malignant neoplasms, including neoplasms of lymphatic and hematopoietic tissues
554,643
190.7
3
Cerebrovascular diseases
157,803
54.3
4
Chronic lower respiratory diseases
126,128
43.4
5
Accidents and adverse effects
105,695
36.3
Motor vehicle accidents
44,059
15.2
All other accidents
61,636
21.2
6
Diabetes mellitus
73,965
25.4
7
Pneumonia and influenza
64,847
22.3
8
Alzheimer's disease
63,343
21.8
9
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome, and nephrosis
42,536
14.6
10
Septicemia
34,243
11.8
All other causes
536,265
184.4
1) Includes deaths under 1 year of age.
Source:
U.S. National Center for Health Statistics, 2003 Data.
Rank
Cause of death
Number of deaths
Rate (per 100,000 population)
All causes
4,911
31.1
1
Accidents and adverse effects
1,679
10.6
Motor vehicle accidents
591
3.7
All other accidents
1,088
6.9
2
Congenital anomalies
514
3.3
3
Malignant neoplasms, including neoplasms of lymphatic and hematopoietic tissues
383
2.4
4
Homicide and legal intervention
342
2.2
5
Diseases of the heart
186
1.2
6
Pneumonia and influenza
151
1.0
7
Septicemia
82
0.5
8
Conditions originating in the perinatal period
76
0.5
9
Benign neoplasms, carcinoma in situ, and neoplasms of uncertain behavior and of unspecified nature
53
0.3
10
Respiratory diseases
47
0.3
All other causes
1,398
8.9
Source:
U.S. National Center for Health Statistics, 2003 Data.
Rank
Cause of death
Number of deaths
Rate (per 100,000 population)
All causes
6,930
16.9
1
Accidents and adverse effects
2,561
6.3
Motor vehicle accidents
1,592
3.9
All other accidents
970
2.4
2
Malignant neoplasms, including neoplasms of lymphatic and hematopoietic tissues
1,060
2.6
3
Congenital anomalies
370
0.9
4
Homicide and legal intervention
310
0.8
5
Suicide
255
0.6
6
Diseases of the heart
252
0.6
7
Pneumonia and influenza
134
0.3
8
Chronic respiratory diseases
107
0.3
9
Septicemia
77
0.2
10
Benign neoplasms, carcinoma in situ, and neoplasms of uncertain behavior and of unspecified nature
76
0.2
All other causes
1,728
4.2
Source:
U.S. National Center for Health Statistics, 2003 Data.
Rank
Cause of death
Number of deaths
Rate (per 100,000 population)
All causes
33,022
80.1
1
Accidents and adverse effects
14,966
36.3
Motor vehicle accidents
10,857
26.3
All other accidents
4,109
10.0
2
Homicide and legal intervention
5,148
12.5
3
Suicide
3,921
9.5
4
Malignant neoplasms, including neoplasms of lymphatic and hematopoietic tissues
1,628
4.0
5
Diseases of the heart
1,083
2.6
6
Congenital anomalies
425
1.0
7
Pneumonia and influenza
216
0.5
8
Cerebrovascular diseases
204
0.5
9
Chronic respiratory diseases
172
0.4
10
Human immunodeficiency virus infection
171
0.4
All other causes
5,088
12.3
Source:
U.S. National Center for Health Statistics, 2003 Data.
Rank
Cause of death
Number of deaths
Rate (per 100,000 population)
All causes
128,924
153.0
1
Accidents and adverse effects
27,844
33.1
Motor vehicle accidents
13,582
16.1
All other accidents
14,261
16.9
2
Malignant neoplasms, including neoplasms of lymphatic and hematopoietic tissues
19,041
22.6
3
Diseases of the heart
16,283
19.3
4
Suicide
11,251
13.4
5
Homicide and legal intervention
7,367
8.7
6
Human immunodeficiency virus infection
6,879
8.2
7
Chronic liver disease and cirrhosis
3,288
3.9
8
Cerebrovascular diseases
3,004
3.6
9
Diabetes mellitus
2,662
3.2
10
Pneumonia and influenza
1,337
1.6
All other causes
29,968
35.6
Source:
U.S. National Center for Health Statistics, 2003 Data.
Rank
Cause of death
Number of deaths
Rate (per 100,000 population)
All causes
437,058
636.1
1
Malignant neoplasms, including neoplasms of lymphatic and hematopoietic tissues
144,936
211.0
2
Diseases of the heart
101,713
148.0
3
Accidents and adverse effects
23,669
34.5
Motor vehicle accidents
9,891
14.4
All other accidents
13,778
20.1
4
Diabetes mellitus
16,326
23.8
5
Cerebrovascular diseases
15,971
23.2
6
Chronic respiratory diseases
15,409
22.4
7
Chronic liver disease and cirrhosis
13,649
19.9
8
Suicide
10,057
14.6
9
Human immunodeficiency virus infection
5,917
8.6
10
Septicemia
5,827
8.5
All other causes
83,584
121.7
Source:
U.S. National Center for Health Statistics, 2003 Data.
Rank
Cause of death
Number of deaths
Rate (per 100,000 population)
All causes
1,804,131
5,022.8
1
Diseases of the heart
564,204
1,570.8
2
Malignant neoplasms, including neoplasms of lymphatic and hematopoietic tissues
387,475
1,078.7
3
Cerebrovascular diseases
138,397
385.3
4
Chronic respiratory diseases
109,199
304.0
5
Alzheimer's disease
62,707
174.6
6
Pneumonia and influenza
57,507
160.1
7
Diabetes mellitus
54,770
152.5
8
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome, and nephrosis
35,392
98.5
9
Accidents and adverse effects
33,976
94.6
Motor vehicle accidents
7,379
20.5
All other accidents
26,597
74.0
10
Septicemia
26,609
74.1
All other causes
333,895
929.6
Source:
U.S. National Center for Health Statistics, 2003 Data.
Hotmail
Messenger
My MSN
MSN Directory
