Deaths: leading causes for 1999.

OBJECTIVES: This report presents final 1999 data on the 10 leading causes of death in the United States by age, race, sex, and Hispanic origin. Leading causes of infant, neonatal, and postneonatal death are also presented. This report supplements the annual report of final mortality statistics and responds to an increasing volume of requests by data users for leading-cause tables with more age and race detail than previously published.

METHODS: Data in this report are based on information from all death certificates filed in the 50 States and the District of Columbia in 1999. Causes of death classified by the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) are ranked according to the number of deaths assigned to rankable causes. Age categories used to present leading causes of death in this report represent a substantial expansion from the age categories previously used to present leading-cause data in the annual report of final mortality statistics.

RESULTS: In 1999 the 10 leading causes of death were (in rank order) Diseases of heart; Malignant neoplasms; Cerebrovascular diseases; Chronic lower respiratory diseases; Accidents; Diabetes mellitus; Influenza and pneumonia; Alzheimer's disease; Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome, and nephrosis; and Septicemia and accounted for nearly 80 percent of all deaths occurring in the United States. Differences in the rankings are evident by age, sex, race, and Hispanic origin. Leading causes of infant death for 1999 were (in rank order) Congenital malformations, deformations and chromosomal abnormalities; Disorders related to short gestation and low birthweight, not elsewhere classified; Sudden infant death syndrome; newborn affected by maternal complications of pregnancy; Respiratory distress of newborn; Newborn affected by complications of placenta, cord, and membranes; Accidents; Bacterial sepsis of newborn; Diseases of the circulatory system; and Atelectasis. Important variation in the leading causes of infant death is noted for the neonatal and postneonatal periods.