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What Are The Top 10 Causes of Death in the United States in 2017?

Top 10 Causes of Death in 2017

Death is certainly something that will come to us all. It is interesting and medically important to understand the categories and risks of the most common causes of death. The following is the top 10. Not much has changed from 2016 as far as placement.

1.)  Heart Disease – 647,457

–  Heart Disease is a broad condition of disease of the Heart.
–  This accounts for approximately 23% of the deaths in 2017.
–  This is a very minimal decrease from 2016.
Heart Disease conditions could include but not limited to:
A.)  Coronary Artery Disease
B.)  Heart Attack
C.)  Hypertension
D.)  And many more

2.)  Cancer – 599,108

–  This accounts for approximately 21.3% of the deaths in 2017.
–  This is a slight decrease from 2016.
–  This has been the only statistically significant death-rate to decrease among the top 10 in two years.

3.)  Accidents/Unintentional Injuries – 169,936

–  This accounts for approximately 6% of the deaths in 2017.
–  This is an increase from 2016.
–  This category includes car accidents, falls, and fatal drug overdoses
–  Unintentional fatal drug overdoses deaths rose from 63,632 (2016) to 70,237 (2017).

4.)  Chronic Lower Respiratory Diseases – 160,201

–  This accounts for approximately 5.7% of the deaths in 2017.
–  This is an increase from 2016.
–  This include Lung Conditions such as: emphysema, Bronchitis, COPD, Asthma, and other similar conditions
–  Does not include Influenza and Pneumonia

5.)  Stroke – 146,383

–  Stroke accounts for approximately 5.2% of the deaths in 2017.
–  This is an increase from 2016.

6.)  Alzheimer’s Disease – 121,404

–  Alzheimer’s Disease accounts for approximately 4.3% of the deaths in 2017.
–  This is an increase from 2016.

7.)  Diabetes – 83,564

–  Diabetes accounts for approximately 3% of the deaths in 2017.
–  This is a .5% increase from 2016.

8.)  Influenza and Pneumonia – 55,672

–  This accounts for approximately 2% of the deaths in 2017.
–  This is an increase of 4,000 deaths from 2016.
–  Category includes both conditions of Influenza and Pneumonia
–  The flu season from 2017-2018 is believed to have an estimated number of deaths near 80,000.

9.)  Kidney Disease – 50,633

–  This accounts for approximately 1.8% of the deaths in 2017.
–  This is a slight decrease from 2016.
–  Kidney Disease is a general category that causes Kidney damage.
–  This could include: Kidney Failure, Urinary problems and infection, and more.

10.)  Suicide – 47,173

–  This accounts for approximately 1.7% of the deaths in 2017.
–  This is an increase from 1.6% to 1.7% – up from 2016.
–  Age adjusted rate of 14 deaths by suicide per 100,000.

_{CDC/NCHS – Mortality in the United States, 2017
CDC/NCHS – Drug Overdose Deaths in the United States, 1999–2017
CDC/NCHS – Suicide Mortality in the United States, 1999–2017}