The leading causes of death in the United States have changed significantly from the year 1900 to the present. Leading causes of death in 1900, such as tuberculosis, gastrointestinal infections, and diphtheria have seen huge decreases in death rates and are no longer among the leading causes of death in the United States. However, other diseases such as heart disease and cancer have seen increased death rates. Vaccinations One major factor contributing to the decrease in death rates for many diseases since the year 1900 is the introduction of vaccinations. The decrease seen in the rates of death due to pneumonia and influenza is a prime example of this. In 1900, pneumonia and influenza were the leading causes of death, with around *** deaths per 100,000 population. However, in 2023 pneumonia and influenza were not even among the ten leading causes of death. Cancer One disease that has seen a large increase in death rates since 1900 is cancer. Cancer currently accounts for almost ** percent of all deaths in the United States, with death rates among men higher than those for women. The deadliest form of cancer for both men and women is cancer of the lung and bronchus. Some of the most common avoidable risk factors for cancer include smoking, drinking alcohol, sun exposure, and obesity.

Rank, number of deaths, percentage of deaths, and age-specific mortality rates for the leading causes of death, by age group and sex, 2000 to most recent year.

This is historical data. The update frequency has been set to "Static Data" and is here for historic value. Updated 8/14/2024. Number of deaths among Maryland residents for which diseases of the heart was the underlying cause of death. Diseases of the heart include deaths coded to the following International Classification of Diseases codes: ICD-3 (1920-1929) -- 87-90 ICD-4 (1930-1938) -- 56, 90-95 ICD-5 (1939-1948) -- 90-95 ICD-6 (1949-1957) -- 400-443 ICD-7 (1958-1967) -- 400-443 ICD-8 (1968-1978) -- 390-398, 402, 404, 410-429 ICD-9 (1979-1998) -- 390-398, 402, 404-429 ICD-10 (1999-present) -- I00-I09, I11, I13, I20-I51.

Liver cirrhosis is a chronic disease, which occurs when long-term damage and scarring to the liver prevents it from functioning to its full capacity. Although the human liver is the only organ with the capacity to regenerate itself; there is no cure for liver cirrhosis, however the effects of the condition can be slowed and even minimalized by removing the cause of the damage. The most common causes of liver cirrhosis are alcohol abuse and hepatitis. While hepatitis can be combatted with vaccinations and medication, alcohol abuse can be more complicated due to the psychological impact it has on the user. The prevention of alcohol abuse and its side-effects was one of the major aims of the Prohibition movement in the United States in the 1920s, and records show that the number of deaths due to liver cirrhosis decreased greatly during the Prohibition era, and rose again following Prohibition's repeal in 1933. In the early 1900s, the death rate due to cirrhosis of the liver was as high as 14.8 deaths per 100,000 people, however it gradually fell in the wartime Prohibition of the First World War, and then plateaued at half of this level, between 7.1 and 7.5 deaths per 100,000 people, during federal Prohibition in the 1920s and early 1930s. After Prohibition was repealed at the end of 1933, deaths due to liver cirrhosis increased again, and by the late 1960s, the rate was consistently double it's Prohibition era level.

In the United States in 2021, the death rate was highest among those aged 85 and over, with about 17,190.5 men and 14,914.5 women per 100,000 of the population passing away. For all ages, the death rate was at 1,118.2 per 100,000 of the population for males, and 970.8 per 100,000 of the population for women. The death rate Death rates generally are counted as the number of deaths per 1,000 or 100,000 of the population and include both deaths of natural and unnatural causes. The death rate in the United States had pretty much held steady since 1990 until it started to increase over the last decade, with the highest death rates recorded in recent years. While the birth rate in the United States has been decreasing, it is still currently higher than the death rate. Causes of death There are a myriad number of causes of death in the United States, but the most recent data shows the top three leading causes of death to be heart disease, cancers, and accidents. Heart disease was also the leading cause of death worldwide.

This is historical data. The update frequency has been set to "Static Data" and is here for historic value. Updated 8/14/2024.

Number of deaths among Maryland residents for which cerebrovascular disorders were the underlying cause of death. This includes deaths coded to the following International Classification of Diseases codes: ICD-3 (1920-1929) -- 74 ICD-4 (1930-1938) -- 82 ICD-5 (1939-1948) -- 83 ICD-6 (1949-1957) -- 330-334 ICD-7 (1958-1967) -- 330-334 ICD-8 (1968-1978) -- 430-438 ICD-9 (1979-1998) -- 430-438 ICD-10 (1999-present) -- I60-I69.

Number of deaths among Maryland residents for which diseases of the heart was the underlying cause of death. Diseases of the heart include deaths coded to the following International Classification of Diseases codes: ICD-3 (1920-1929) -- 87-90 ICD-4 (1930-1938) -- 56, 90-95 ICD-5 (1939-1948) -- 90-95 ICD-6 (1949-1957) -- 400-443 ICD-7 (1958-1967) -- 400-443 ICD-8 (1968-1978) -- 390-398, 402, 404, 410-429 ICD-9 (1979-1998) -- 390-398, 402, 404-429 ICD-10 (1999-present) -- I00-I09, I11, I13, I20-I51.

Number of deaths and mortality rates, by age group, sex, and place of residence, 1991 to most recent year.

Even in 2021, bubonic plague continues to exist in nature, and there are generally a few thousand human cases per year. Going back to the beginning of the 20th century, it is estimated that there were roughly one million cases per year in 1907. Within two decades, this number had fallen below one fifth of this level to 170,000 cases per year in the 1920s, and in the 1940s it was just over 20,000 per year. By the mid-20th century, it had fallen below 5,000 cases per year, but the rapid decrease in cases observed in the first half of the 1900s did not continue through the second half of the century. Even in 2019, there was one case of plague recorded in the United States. How infection occurs Yersinia pestis is the bacteria that causes the plague virus, and it is most commonly spread by rats and their fleas. The disease survives by fleas infecting rats, which in turn infect other fleas; the majority of rats survive the disease, which facilitates its spread; this is known as the "enzootic cycle ". Interestingly, the disease is usually fatal for the fleas, as it blocks their "stomachs" and causes them to starve; as the fleas get hungrier, they attempt to feed on more hosts, spreading the disease more rapidly. When the rats die, the parasitic fleas then search for a new host, which means that other animals (particularly mammals) are susceptible to this virus. While rat fleas can not survive on other hosts for very long, they can infect other (including human) fleas with the virus. The most common way for humans to contract the plague however, is when a rat flea bites its human host; during this process the flea simultaneously regurgitates Yersinia pestis bacteria into the wound, and this causes bubonic plague. Humans can then spread the disease among one another by coming into contact with the infected tissue or fluids of an infected person, or from the transfer of fleas. Continued existence of the plague Plague is extremely difficult to eradicate in nature, as rodent communities in the wild provide natural reservoirs for the disease to spread. In previous centuries, rats had much more frequent contact with humans for a variety of reasons; houses were more often made of wood (which made infestations easier), public spaces were much dirtier, and the presence of rats was tolerated more. As the understanding of epidemiology grew in the 20th century, this greatly reduced the frequency of plague in human populations. Unlike human diseases such as smallpox, which was eradicated through vaccination and other medical advancements, basic sanitation and the extermination of rats have been the driving force behind the decline of plague.

Since the 1780s, over 25,000 United States law enforcement officers have died while on active duty, or due to injuries and illnesses obtained while on duty. Gunfire is responsible for over half of all total law enforcement deaths recorded, particularly before the 1930s. From this point on, the total share of gunfire deaths has decreased significantly, mostly due to the increase in vehicle or health related deaths, although gunfire has remained the most common individual cause of death in almost every year. Gunfire deaths These deaths rose steadily after the Civil War, and peaked at over 200 annual deaths during the 1920s, due to the increase in criminal activity during prohibition. Because of this, the National Firearms Act of 1934 was introduced in an attempt to reduce gun-related crime, by requiring the registration of any transfer of ownership and imposing a tax on gun manufacturers and distributors. After Prohibition's end and the introduction of these measures, annual law enforcement deaths from gunfire have been well below 100 in almost every year, except for a brief spike in the early 1970s, during the crime wave that began in the 1960s and the beginning of the "War on Drugs". Overall, gunfire deaths of law enforcement have fallen since the 1970s, reaching a low of just 34 deaths in 2013. In contrast, the total number of people killed by police shootings has consistently been above one thousand for most of the past decade.

Increase in health-related deaths

The majority of non-gunfire deaths are a result of vehicle-related accidents, and the number of crashes and accidents rose throughout the 20th century in line with the increase in car ownership. However, the number of deaths from heart attacks and job-related illness has also risen over time, due to the aging of the population and increasingly unhealthy lifestyle trends across the country. In recent decades, additional health issues have emerged that have had a disproportionate impact on law enforcement. In 2001, 72 officers died as a result of the September 11th terrorist attacks, and over 350 additional deaths have been attributed to the adverse health effects (primarily respiratory illnesses) sustained by first responders from law enforcement. From 2020-2022, COVID-19 became the largest single cause of law enforcement deaths. Figures relate to cases where the individual contracted COVID-19 while on duty, and highlights the increased exposure to the virus faced by those considered to be frontline or essential workers. This number is likely to fall in the future as infection rates fall and newer strains of the virus are less lethal.

This dataset tracks the updates made on the dataset "Number of Cerebrovascular Disease Deaths among Maryland Residents, 1920-2015" as a repository for previous versions of the data and metadata.

The influenza pandemic of 1918, known as the Spanish Flu, was one of the deadliest and widespread pandemics in human history. The scale of the outbreak, as well as limitations in technology, medicine and communication, create difficulties when trying to uncover accurate figures relating to the pandemic. Estimates suggest that the virus, known as the H1N1 influenza virus, infected more than one quarter of the global population, which equated to approximately 500 million people in 1920. It was responsible for roughly 25 million fatalities, although some projections suggest that it could have caused double this number of deaths. The exact origins of this strain of influenza remain unclear to this day, however it was first noticed in Western Europe in the latter stages of the First World War. Wartime censorship in Europe meant that the severity of the pandemic was under-reported, while news outlets in neutral Spain were free to report openly about the impact of the virus; this gave the illusion that the virus was particularly strong in Spain, giving way to the term "Spanish Flu".

Effects of the virus

By late summer 1918, the pandemic had spread across the entire continent, and the H1N1 virus had mutated into a deadlier strain that weakened the infected's immune system more than traditional influenzas. Some studies suggest that, in contrast to these traditional influenza viruses, having a stronger immune system was actually a liability in the case of the H1N1 virus as it triggered what is known as a "cytokine storm". This is where white blood cells release proteins called cytokines, which signal the body to attack the virus, in turn releasing more white blood cells which release more cytokines. This cycle over-works and greatly weakens the immune system, often giving way to other infections; most commonly pneumonia in the case of the Spanish Flu. For this reason, the Spanish Flu had an uncommonly high fatality rate among young adults, who are traditionally the healthiest group in society. Some theories for the disproportionate death-rate among young adults suggest that the elderly's immune systems benefitted from exposure to earlier influenza pandemics, such as the "Asiatic/Russian Flu" pandemic of 1889.

Decrease in life expectancy As the war in Europe came to an end, soldiers returning home brought the disease to all corners of the world, and the pandemic reached global proportions. Isolated and under-developed nations were especially vulnerable; particularly in Samoa, where almost one quarter of the population died within two months and life expectancy fell to just barely over one year for those born in 1918; this was due to the arrival of a passenger ship from New Zealand in November 1918, where the infected passengers were not quarantined on board, allowing the disease to spread rapidly. Other areas where life expectancy dropped below ten years for those born in 1918 were present-day Afghanistan, the Congo, Fiji, Guatemala, Kenya, Micronesia, Serbia, Tonga and Uganda. The British Raj, now Bangladesh, India and Pakistan, saw more fatalities than any other region, with as many as five percent of the entire population perishing as a result of the pandemic. The pandemic also had a high fatality rate among pregnant women and infants, and greatly impacted infant mortality rates across the world. There were several waves of the pandemic until late 1920, although they decreased in severity as time progressed, and none were as fatal as the outbreak in 1918. A new strain of the H1N1 influenza virus did re-emerge in 2009, and was colloquially known as "Swine Flu"; thankfully it had a much lower fatality rate due to medical advancements across the twentieth century.

This dataset tracks the updates made on the dataset "Number of Cerebrovascular Disease Deaths among Maryland Residents, 1920-2015" as a repository for previous versions of the data and metadata.

Background and aimsPilgrims with pre-existing Chronic Diseases are at high risk of physical stress that can lead to unexpected health outcomes, including multiple visits to the hospital, organ failure, or even death. In addition, the risk of mortality related to Chronic Diseases increases during mass gatherings due to these same reasons. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the Prevalence of Chronic Diseases and clinical symptoms among pilgrims during Hajj 2024 in Saudi Arabia.MethodsDuring the 2024 Hajj rituals, cross-sectional questionnaires were administered to pilgrims at the Jeddah International Airport. The questionnaire contained questions on sociodemographic information, the presence of Chronic Diseases, types of Chronic Diseases, and clinical symptoms.ResultsA total of 1920 pilgrims were included in the study, with a mean age of 52.03 ± 13.43 and a median of 53 years. Among those, 49.4% were males. The prevalence of Chronic Diseases (CDs) was 36.3% (n = 697). Among those, 16% (n = 308) of them reported hypertension, followed by diabetes 11.6% (n = 222), asthma (4%, n = 76), and cardiovascular diseases (3.4% n = 65). The most common symptoms associated with Chronic Diseases were cough (36.5%, n = 700), followed by fever (21.8%, n = 419), and sore throat (21.2%, n = 407). The presence of diabetes was significantly associated with gender (p = 0.019), while hypertension was more common among male pilgrims (n = 829) compared to female pilgrims (n = 783) (p = 001). Furthermore, the presence of coughing was significantly associated with the age and educational level of the pilgrims (p = 0.001). On the other hand, headaches were more common among females compared to male pilgrims (p = 0.001).ConclusionA considerable number of pilgrims suffer from Chronic Diseases, with hypertension being most common. Further interventions, such as education and management before Hajj, are recommended.

The child mortality rate in the United States, for children under the age of five, was 462.9 deaths per thousand births in 1800. This means that for every thousand babies born in 1800, over 46 percent did not make it to their fifth birthday. Over the course of the next 220 years, this number has dropped drastically, and the rate has dropped to its lowest point ever in 2020 where it is just seven deaths per thousand births. Although the child mortality rate has decreased greatly over this 220 year period, there were two occasions where it increased; in the 1870s, as a result of the fourth cholera pandemic, smallpox outbreaks, and yellow fever, and in the late 1910s, due to the Spanish Flu pandemic.

Once described by US President Herbert Hoover as "a great social and economic experiment", we now know that Prohibition was ultimately a failure, that led to increased crime and violence and gave way to a new era of mafia and mob influence in the United States. On January 17, 1920, the Volstead Act came into effect and the manufacturing, transportation, importation and sale of alcohol became federally prohibited across the United States, and while consumption was not a federal offence, it was sometimes prohibited on a state level. Opposition to Prohibition remained strong throughout the 1920s, and the Great Depression (starting in 1929) led many to advocate for the sale and taxation of alcoholic beverages in order to ease the US' economic woes. One of the reasons why Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected in 1932 was due to his promise of ending Prohibition, which he did with the Ratification of the 21st Amendment on December 5, 1933.

Impact on homicide rate

In the two decades before Prohibition, the recorded homicide rate in the United States was growing gradually, although often fluctuating in the 1910s. When Prohibition came into effect, the homicide rate continued on it's previous trajectory, but without fluctuating. While homicides related to alcohol consumption may have declined, some historians speculate that the total number could have continued to rise due to the increase in criminal activity associated with the illegal alcohol trade. The homicide rate in the US reached it's highest figure in the final year of Prohibition, with 9.7 homicides per 100,000 people in 1933, before falling to roughly half of this rate over the next ten years (this decrease in the early 1940s was also facilitated by the draft for the Second World War).

Impact on suicide rate

Alcohol's contribution to suicide rates has been significant throughout history, however it is only through more recent studies that society is beginning to form a clearer picture of what the relationship between the two actually is. In the first half of the twentieth century, there was no record of alcohol's role in individual suicide cases, however there was a noticeable change in the US' suicide rate during the 1920s. Prior to Prohibition, the suicide rate had already fallen from over 16 deaths per 100,000 people in 1915 to 11.5 in 1919, however this decline has been attributed to the role played by the First World War, which saw millions enlist and contribute to the war effort (a similar decrease can be observed in the lead up to the Second World War). After an initial spike in 1921, the suicide rate in the US then increases gradually throughout the 1920s, spiking again following the Great Depression in 1929. It is unclear whether the reduction in the US suicide rate in the 1910s and 1920s can be attributed to Prohibition, or whether it should be attributed to a variety of socio-economic factors, however the changing figures does suggest some correlation when compared with other decades.

Between the beginning of January 2020 and June 14, 2023, of the 1,134,641 deaths caused by COVID-19 in the United States, around 307,169 had occurred among those aged 85 years and older. This statistic shows the number of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) deaths in the U.S. from January 2020 to June 2023, by age.

In 1919, there were almost 13 deaths from measles per 100,000 population in the United States. However, this rate had dropped to zero by the year 2021. In early 2025, an outbreak of measles in Texas resulted in the death of a child. This was the first measles death in the United States since 2015. Measles is a highly contagious disease, that is especially dangerous for children. However, vaccines have significantly decreased the rate of cases and deaths in the United States.

The child mortality rate in the United Kingdom, for children under the age of five, was 329 deaths per thousand births in 1800. This means that approximately one in every three children born in 1800 did not make it to their fifth birthday. Over the course of the next 220 years, this number has dropped drastically, particularly in the first half of the twentieth century, and the rate has dropped to its lowest point ever in 2020 where it is just four deaths per thousand births.

Since the 1950s, the suicide rate in the United States has been significantly higher among men than women. In 2022, the suicide rate among men was almost four times higher than that of women. However, the rate of suicide for both men and women has increased gradually over the past couple of decades. Facts on suicide in the United States In 2022, the rate of suicide death in the United States was around 14 per 100,000 population. The suicide rate in the U.S. has generally increased since the year 2000, with the highest rates ever recorded in the years 2018 and 2022. In the United States, death rates from suicide are highest among those aged 45 to 64 years and lowest among younger adults aged 15 to 24. The states with the highest rates of suicide are Montana, Alaska, and Wyoming, while New Jersey and Massachusetts have the lowest rates. Suicide among men In 2023, around 4.5 percent of men in the United States reported having serious thoughts of suicide in the past year. Although this rate is lower than that of women, men still have a higher rate of suicide death than women. One reason for this may have to do with the method of suicide. Although firearms account for the largest share of suicide deaths among both men and women, firearms account for almost 60 percent of all suicides among men and just 35 percent among women. Suffocation and poisoning are the other most common methods of suicide among women, with the chances of surviving a suicide attempt from these methods being much higher than surviving an attempt by firearm. The age group with the highest rate of suicide death among men is by far those aged 75 years and over.