Homicide no longer in top 15 causes of death; replaced by pneumonitis due to solids and liquids
WEDNESDAY, Jan. 11 (HealthDay News) -- From 2009 to 2010, age-adjusted death rates decreased and life expectancy increased, according to a Jan. 11 report published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Sherry L. Murphy, from the National Center for Health Statistics in Hyattsville, Md., and colleagues assessed preliminary U.S. data on deaths, death rates, leading causes of death, life expectancy, and infant mortality for 2010. Data were collected from death records comprising more than 98 percent of demographic and medical files for all U.S. deaths.
The investigators found that, from 2009 to 2010, the age-adjusted death rate decreased from 749.6 to 746.2 deaths per 100,000 population. There was an increase in life expectancy from 78.6 in 2009 to 78.7 in 2010. There was a significant age-adjusted decrease in the death rates from 2009 to 2010 for seven of the 15 leading causes of death, including heart diseases; cerebrovascular diseases; malignant neoplasms; chronic lower respiratory diseases; unintentional injuries; influenza and pneumonia; and septicemia. Homicide was no longer one of the 15 leading causes of death in 2010, and was replaced by pneumonitis due to solids and liquids. For five leading causes of death, the age-adjusted death rates increased: Alzheimer's disease; Parkinson's disease; nephritis, nephritic syndrome, and nephrosis; chronic liver disease and cirrhosis; and pneumonitis due to solids and liquids.
"This preliminary report includes national and state estimates of total deaths and death rates, as well as statistics on life expectancy, infant mortality, and causes of death," the authors write.
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