	Site Map \| FAQ in Daily Almanac for Nov 9, 2009 Search White Pages
Skip Navigation Home American Indian Heritage Month Atlas Encyclopedia Dictionary Thesaurus Features Quizzes Timelines Countries Slideshows

Fact Monster Kid's reference,
games, quizzes

Editor's Favorites

United States > U.S. Statistics > Mortality

10 Leading Causes of Death in the U.S., 2003

Leading causes of death differ somewhat by age, sex, and race. In 2003, 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	2,448,288	All causes	1,201,964	All causes	1,246,324
1.	Diseases of heart	685,089	Diseases of heart	336,095	Diseases of heart	348,994
2.	Malignant neoplasms (cancer)	556,902	Malignant neoplasms (cancer)	287,990	Malignant neoplasms (cancer)	268,912
3.	Cerebrovascular diseases	157,689	Unintentional injuries	70,532	Cerebrovascular diseases	96,263
4.	Chronic lower respiratory diseases	126,382	Cerebrovascular diseases	61,426	Chronic lower respiratory diseases	65,668
5.	Unintentional injuries	109,277	Chronic lower respiratory diseases	60,714	Alzheimer's disease	45,122
6.	Diabetes mellitus	74,219	Diabetes mellitus	35,438	Diabetes mellitus	38,781
7.	Influenza and pneumonia	65,163	Influenza and pneumonia	28,778	Unintentional injuries	38,745
8.	Alzheimer's disease	63,457	Suicide	25,203	Influenza and pneumonia	36,385
9.	Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome, and nephrosis	42,453	Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome, and nephrosis	20,481	Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome, and nephrosis	21,972
10.	Septicemia	34,069	Alzheimer's disease	18,335	Septicemia	19,082

Source: U.S. National Center for Health Statistics, Health, United States, 2005.

Deaths by Major Causes, 1960–2004

Mortality

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

Premium Partner Content

Related content from HighBeam Research on: 10 Leading Causes of Death in the U.S., 2003

A comparative review of U.S. military and civilian suicide behavior: implications for OEF/OIF suicide prevention efforts.(SPECIAL SECTION: HELPING MILITARY PERSONNEL AND RECENT VETERANS MANAGE STRESS REACTIONS)(Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom)(Report) (Journal of Mental Health Counseling)

States failing to meet U.S. goals for reducing smoking among women and girls. (Women's Health Weekly)

U.S. CDC releases annual summary of pediatric vital statistics for 2002. (Women's Health Weekly)

A growing problem: diabetes and obesity are taking a toll on the U.S. health-care system. Health insurers and disability carriers are reaching out to members, physicians and employers about ways to curb the rise of these diseases.(Health/Employee Benefits) (Best's Review)

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

Weight control behaviors in overweight/obese U.S. adults with diagnosed hypertension and diabetes.(Original investigation)(Report) (Cardiovascular Diabetology)

Aging U.S. population may force health care changes. (CDC Analysis). (OB GYN News)

Prevention of death in chronic kidney disease: The role of implantable cardioverter defibrillators (CANNT Journal)

ICDs have 'disappointing' impact on sudden cardiac death.(Cardiovascular Medicine)(Implantable cardioverter defibrillator )(Clinical report) (Internal Medicine News)

ICDs have little impact on sudden death rates.(Cardiovascular Medicine)(Implantable cardioverter-defibrillator ) (Family Practice News)

Infoplease Tools