Leading Causes Of Death

Collected from TV, Radio, Newspaper, and Government sources.
Should government funding be based on the leading causes of death?
Worldwide, 10,000 people die each day, and 12,000 people are born. This means that business will always be steady for funeral homes, caskets, urns, grave stones, cemetaries, hospitals, doctors, and baby stuff. Invest accordingly.
Top Causes of Death in US
Number of Deaths Per Year
  1. Abortion: 1,500,000 - NPR, March 18, 2002
  2. Heart Disease: 696,947 - CDC, 2002
  3. Cancer (Malignant neoplasms): 557,271 - CDC, 2002
  4. Smoking: 400,000 - USA Today, March 13, 2002
  5. Sudden Cardiac Arrest: 250,000 - NBC News, March 19, 2002
  6. Doctors: 250,000 deaths per year from iatrogenic causes (12,000 -- unnecessary surgery; 7,000 -- medication errors in hospitals; 20,000 -- other errors in hospitals; 80,000 -- infections in hospitals; 106,000 -- non-error, negative effects of drugs.)(Journal American Medical Association July 26, 2000;284(4):483-5)
  7. Stroke (Cerebrovascular diseases): 162,672 - CDC, 2002
  8. Chronic Lower Respiratory Diseases: 124,816 - CDC, 2002
  9. Accidents (unintentional injuries): 106,742 - CDC, 2002
    Motor Vehicle Accidents 44.8 per 100,000 - CDC, 1994
    All Other Accidents 16.9 per 100,000 - CDC, 1994
  10. Infections caught in Hospitals: 90,000 - NPR, March 27, 2002
  11. Medical Malpractice: 80,000 - Ralph Nader, October 21, 1996
  12. Diabetes mellitus: 73,249 - CDC, 2002
  13. Influenza/Pneumonia: 65,681 - CDC, 2002
  14. Alzheimers's Disease: 58,866 - CDC, 2002
  15. AIDS: 41,930 - CDC, 1994
  16. Nephritis, Nephrotic Syndrome, and Nephrosis: 40,974 - CDC, 2002
  17. Septicemia: 33,864 - CDC, 2002
  18. Suicide (Intentional self-harm): 31,655 - CDC, 2002
  19. Chronic Liver Disease And Cirrhosis: 27,257 - CDC, 2002
  20. Essential (primary) hypertension and hypertensive renal disease: 20,261 - CDC, 2002
  21. Assault (Homicide): 17,638 - CDC, 2002
  22. Pneumonitis due to solids and liquids: 17,593 - CDC, 2002
  23. Food Poisoning: 9,000 - NBC News, Jan 1997
  24. War: 3,000+, - Network News, 2001:
    New York City - 2,900+, 2001
    Afganistan - 24+, 2002
    Bosnia
    Kosovo
    Columbia
    Iraq: 1,500 - ABC News, Mar 18, 2005
    Pakastan
  25. Road Rage: 1,000 (Angry motorists killing each other) - NBC News, Feb 1997

  26. TOTAL: 2,443,387 - CDC, 2002
This is from the Centers For Disease Control (CDC):

Most Common Causes of Death, United States, 1999*

Most Common Causes of Death, US

*Rates are age adjusted to 2000 total U.S. population. Boldface type indicates chronic disease or condition.

Top 10 Causes of Death in US, All Ages
Number of Deaths In 2002 (Life Expectancey: 77.3 years) - CDC
  1. Heart Disease: 696,947
  2. Cancer: 557,271
  3. Stroke (Cerebrovascular Disease) 162,672
  4. Chronic Lower Respiratory Diseases: 124,816
  5. Accidents (unintentional injuries): 106,742
  6. Diabetes 73,249
  7. Influenza/Pneumonia: 65,681
  8. Alzheimer's Disease: 58,866
  9. Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome, and nephrosis: 40,974
  10. Septicemia: 33,865
Top 7 Causes of Death in US, Age 15-24
Deaths Per 100,000 In 1994 - CDC
  1. Motor Vehicle Accidents 44.8
  2. All Other Accidents 16.9
  3. Homicide 15.6
  4. Suicide 12.3
  5. Cancer 6.3
  6. Heart Disease 2.9
  7. Pneumonia 0.8
  8. All Causes 115.4
Persons 25-44 Persons 25-44 Men 25-44Men 25-44 Women 25-44Women 25-44 Life LostPotential Life Lost Before Age 65


Return Updated December 21, 2005 by Ron Ballew