10 leading causes of death among US adults
USAFacts, a Washington-based nonprofit that compiles and reports on government data, explored the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) lists of the leading causes of death among U.S. adults.
In 2021, 10 causes were responsible for 74.5% of 3.46 million deaths in the U.S. The top three causes were heart disease, cancer and COVID-19.
Here are the top 10 causes of death, which accounted for 75.4% of all deaths.
- Heart Disease: 695,547
- Cancer: 605,213
- COVID-19: 416, 893
- Accidents: 224,935
- Stroke: 162,890
- Chronic lower respiratory diseases: 142, 342
- Alzheimer’s disease: 119,399
- Diabetes: 103,294
- Chronic liver disease and cirrhosis: 56,585
- Kidney disease: 54,358
The age-adjusted death rate has decreased for six out of the ten between 1999 and 2021: influenza and pneumonia (-55.3%), heart disease (-34.8%) and strokes (-33.3%).
The report revealed Alzheimer’s death rose by 88% and unintentional injury deaths rose by 83%. The death toll overall rose by 2.4% since the prior list in 2020 from 3.38 million to 3.46 million.
"Other causes of death may also factor into the rising death toll of 2021, namely those related to the COVID-19 pandemic — suicide and violent crimes, both of which have been on the rise in recent years," Dr. Osborn told Fox News Digital.
"I have witnessed this at the Level I trauma center where I operate, and it is paralleled in the statistics from the local health care district," he added.
People 85 and older have the higher mortality rate of 14 out of the 16 leading causes of death. Men had a higher mortality rate for all but two of the 17 leading causes of death.
Racial and ethnic groups also experienced different mortality rates among these causes, such as African Americans having higher rates of heart disease and hypertension.
The report is based on medical professionals’ determination underlying causes of death listed on U.S. death certificates, usually associated with a disease or injury.
The full version of this article originally appeared on Fox News and was written by Melissa Rudy.
