Table I.

Top 10 disease categories contributing to death among US persons 65 years and older by NCHS method and by LE-AAF.

	Percent of deaths attributed to the disease category (95% CI)
	NCHS reported	LE-AAF
Disease category‡	Percentage of deaths	Proportional contribution (95% CI)
Cardiovascular	30.4	17.4 (10.8, 23.0 )
Malignancy / cancer	22.0	7.6 (6.3, 8.9 )
Cerebrovascular / stroke	7.4	2.9 (1.4, 4.2 )
Lower respiratory / lung	6.0	13.6 (11.6, 16.3 )
Alzheimer's / dementia	3.7	7.1 (5.9, 8.2 )
Diabetes	3.1	Not in top ten
Pneumonia, influenza	3.0	4.8 (4.1, 5.8 )
Renal / kidney	2.0	4.8 (3.9, 5.7 )
Unintentional injuries	2.0	3.0 (2.1, 4.0 )
Septicemia	1.5	1.8 (1.4, 2.3 )
Psychiatric	Not in top 10	3.1 (1.5, 4.5 )
All other causes	19	33.9 (residual)

^‡Aggregate disease categories evaluated with LE-AAF were as follows: Cardiovascular included heart failure, pericarditis, endocarditis, and myocarditis, pulmonary heart disease, dysrhythmias, peripheral and visceral vascular disease, atherosclerosis, valve disorders, conduction disorders, hypertension, acute myocardial infarction, and other and ill-defined heart disease. Malignancies included lung, liver, pancreas, bone, connective tissue, head and neck, lymphoma, leukemia, colorectal, kidney and other urinary organs, bladder, prostate, and breast. Lung disease included COPD, other chronic lung diseases, and asthma. Renal included chronic kidney disease and acute kidney injury. Unintentional injuries included hip fracture, other fractures, head injury, falls, motor vehicle accidents, injuries other than falls and motor vehicle accidents, and complications of medical or surgical care; Psychiatric included mood disorders including depression, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, and other psychotic disorders.