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Leading Causes of Death in the U.S.
Official 1989 estimates from the National Center for Health Statistics.
All numbers rounded off.
|
ALL CAUSES |
2,155,000 |
|
Heart Diseases |
734,000 |
|
Cancers |
496,000 |
|
Tobacco 1 |
320,000 |
|
Strokes & Other Cerebrovascular Diseases |
146,000 |
|
Alcohol 1 |
120,000 |
|
Alzheimer's Disease 1 |
100,000 |
|
Medical Negligence 1 |
88,000 |
|
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases |
84,000 |
|
Pneumonia & Influenza |
75,000 |
|
Infectious & Parasitic Diseases 2 |
53,000 |
|
Motor Vehicle Accidents |
47,000 |
|
Diabetes |
47,000 |
|
All Other Accidents & Adverse Effects 3 |
45,000 |
|
Diseases of the Arteries |
43,000 |
|
Suicide 4 |
30,000 |
|
Cirrhosis & Other Liver Diseases |
26,000 |
|
Nephritis & Other Kidney Diseases |
23,000 |
|
Homicide & Legal Intervention 4 |
22,000 |
Footnotes
1 Estimated causes may overlap with official causes - esp. tobacco with cancer and heart disease, and alcohol with cirrhosis, homicide and motor vehicle and other accidents. 2 Because of the dramatic increase in deaths from AIDS, as of 1989, more American males died of AIDS than of homicide 3 This includes the reported deaths from medical mistakes and about 1,400 firearms related accidental deaths 4 Roughly 60% involve firearms. Using the above listing, the total for firearms related deaths at about 33,000 would fall between arterial diseases and suicide. Advice columnist Ann Landers, with typical inaccuracy, has falsely reported that firearms are the fourth leading cause of death in America.
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