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Alzheimer's Climbs in Leading Causes of Death for 2004

Heart disease and cancer accounted for over half the deaths in 2004

April 20, 2006 - The 15 leading causes of death in 2004 were the same as in 2003 except Alzheimer's disease moved up a notch higher, shoving Influenza and pneumonia down one. Alzheimer's moved up to number 7 with 65,829 deaths and was one of only two of the leading causes of death to increase, according to a report yesterday by the National Center for Health Statistics of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The report, "Highlights from Preliminary Mortality Data, 2004," says the age-adjusted death rate declined significantly for 10 of the 15 leading causes of death. Long-term decreasing trends for heart disease, cancer, and stroke (the three leading causes of death) continued.

Increases occurred for hypertension and Alzheimer’s disease.

Heart disease and cancer, by far the biggest killers, continued to dominate the top two spots. These two killers combined to account for 1,204,362 deaths - over half (50.2%) of all reported deaths. (See Table 2 below story.)

Both, however, declined from 2005 - heart diseass by 6.4% and cancer by 2.9%.

The estimated age-adjusted death rate, which accounts for changes in the age distribution of the population, reached a record low of 801.0 per 100,000 U.S. standard population. (See Table 1 below story.)

This report provides selected key findings from 2004 preliminary mortality data for the United States. The findings come from a substantial portion of the records of deaths that occurred in calendar year 2004 and were received and processed by NCHS as of September 12, 2005.

Mortality records are based on information reported on death certificates as completed by funeral directors, attending physicians, medical examiners, and coroners.

Other Trends

  ★ The age-adjusted death rate reached a record low 801.0 per 100,000 U.S. standard population. This value is 3.8 percent lower than the 2003 rate of 832.7 (See Table 1 below).

  ★ All the sex, race, and Hispanic origin groups described in this report showed significant decreases in the age-adjusted death rate between 2003 and 2004. The relative magnitudes of these decreases were:

  ● Non-Hispanic white males (3.5 percent);
  ● Non-Hispanic white females (3.2 percent);
  ● Non-Hispanic black males (4.4 percent);
  ● Non-Hispanic black females (3.9 percent);
  ● American Indian males (5.9 percent);
  ● American Indian females (5.9 percent);
  ● Asian or Pacific Islander males (5.1 percent);
  ● Asian or Pacific Islander females (3.5 percent);
  ● Hispanic males (6.1 percent); and
  ● Hispanic females (6.3 percent).

  ★ Life expectancy at birth for the total population in 2004 reached a record high of 77.9 years. This represents an increase of 0.4 year relative to 2003. Record-high life expectancies were reached for white and black males, as well as for white and black females.

  ★ The trend toward convergence in mortality figures across the sexes continued in 2004. The difference in life expectancy at birth between male and female has decreased an average one-tenth of a year every year since 1980. The difference between male and female life expectancy was 5.2 years in 2004, the smallest such difference since 1946.

  ★ The trend toward convergence in mortality figures across the major race groups also continued in 2004. The trend that began between 1993 and 1994 has meant an average decrease of one-fifth of a year every year since 1993. The difference between white and black life expectancy in 2004 was 5.0 years.

  ★ The slight decrease (1.3 percent) in the infant mortality rate between 2003 and 2004 was not statistically significant.

Table 1. Deaths, age-adjusted death rates, and life expectancy at birth, by race and sex; and infant deaths and mortality rates, by race: United States, final 2003 and preliminary 2004 [Data are based on a continuous file of records received from the States. Figures for 2004 are based on weighted data rounded to the nearest individual, so categories may not add to totals]

1 Includes races other than white and black.

2 Race categories are consistent with the 1977 Office of Management and Budget standards. California, Hawaii, Idaho, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming reported multiple-race data in 2004. The multiple-race data for these States were bridged to the single race categories of the 1977 Office of Management and Budget standards for comparability with the other States; see "Technical Notes."

3 Age-adjusted death rates are per 100,000 U.S. standard population, based on the year 2000 standard.

4 Life expectancy at birth stated in years.

5 Infant mortality rates are deaths under 1 year per 1,000 live births in specified group.

Table 2. Deaths and death rates for 2004 and age-adjusted death rates and percent changes in age-adjusted rates from 2003 to 2004 for the 15 leading causes of death: United States, final 2003 and preliminary 2004

[Data are based on a continuous file of records received from the states. Rates are per 100,000 population; age-adjusted rates per 100,000 U.S. standard population based on the year 2000 standard; see "Technical Notes." For explanation of asterisks (*) preceding cause-of-death codes, see "Technical Notes." Figures for 2004 are based on weighted data rounded to the nearest individual, so categories may not add to totals]