| Share

United States > U.S. Statistics > Mortality

10 Leading Causes of Death in the U.S., 2004

Leading causes of death differ somewhat by age, sex, and race. In 2004, as in previous years, accidents were the leading cause of death for those under 34 years, while in older age groups, chronic diseases such as cancer and heart disease were the leading causes. The top two causes for males and females—heart disease and cancer—are exactly the same. However, suicide ranked 8th for males but was not ranked among the ten leading causes for females.

Rank¹	Causes of death	All persons	Causes of death	Male	Causes of death	Female
	All causes	2,397,615	All causes	1,181,668	All causes	1,215,947
1.	Diseases of heart	652,486	Diseases of heart	321,973	Diseases of heart	330,513
2.	Malignant neoplasms (cancer)	553,888	Malignant neoplasms (cancer)	286,830	Malignant neoplasms (cancer)	267,058
3.	Cerebrovascular diseases	150,074	Unintentional injuries	72,050	Cerebrovascular diseases	91,274
4.	Chronic lower respiratory diseases	121,987	Cerebrovascular diseases	58,800	Chronic lower respiratory diseases	63,341
5.	Unintentional injuries	112,012	Chronic lower respiratory diseases	58,646	Alzheimer's disease	46,991
6.	Diabetes mellitus	73,138	Diabetes mellitus	35,267	Unintentional injuries	39,962
7.	Alzheimer's disease	65,965	Influenza and pneumonia	26,861	Diabetes mellitus	37,871
8.	Influenza and pneumonia	59,664	Suicide	25,566	Influenza and pneumonia	32,803
9.	Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome, and nephrosis	42,480	Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome, and nephrosis	20,370	Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome, and nephrosis	22,110
10.	Septicemia	33,373	Alzheimer's disease	18,974	Septicemia	18,362

Source: U.S. National Center for Health Statistics, Health, United States, 2007.

Information Please® Database, © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Deaths by Major Causes, 1960–2004

Mortality

10 Leading Causes of Death in the U.S., 2004

Premium Partner Content

HighBeam Research

Related content from HighBeam Research on: 10 Leading Causes of Death in the U.S., 2004

ADA responds to study citing obesity close to being leading cause of death. (Biotech Business Week)

Who should be getting screened for CHD? Coronary heart disease remains the leading cause of death among American men and women. An expert tells which tests should be used and when.(FEATURE)(coronary heart disease) (Clinical Advisor)

Lung cancer rates soar among women.(Healthcare/Medical)(lung cancer replaces breast cancer as the leading cause of cancer deaths for women)(Brief Article) (Marketing to Women: Addressing Women and Women's Sensibilities)

50 Leading Business Women 2004: Linda K. Townes (The Mississippi Business Journal)

U.S. Firefighter Fatalities for 2004 (NFPA Journal)

Nearly nine in 10 prison deaths were attributed to medical conditions between 2001 and 2004.(Inter Alia)(Brief article) (Corrections Compendium)

Provocative study says obesity may reduce U.S. life expectancy: the rising incidence of obesity, especially among children and teenagers, is leading to a variety of diseases that could depress average life span.(Public Health) (Science)

A Comparative Review of U.S. Military and Civilian Suicide Behavior: Implications for OEF/OIF Suicide Prevention Efforts (Journal of Mental Health Counseling)

Lung-cancer rate outpaces breast cancer in U.S. women (Journal of Business)

The importance of Level 1 trauma services in U.S. hospitals. (Nursing Economics)

Additional search results provided by HighBeam Research, LLC. © Copyright 2005. All rights reserved.

24 X 7

Private Tutor

	24 x 7 Tutor Availability
	Unlimited Online Tutoring
	1-on-1 Tutoring

Explore Online Math Tutor , 10th Grade Math

Popular Areas

Infoplease Tools

The Family Education Network

About Infoplease,
Part of Family Education Network

© 2000–2013 Pearson Education, publishing as Infoplease