TABLE 3—
Change in Life-Years Lost by Cause of Death, 1995–2015, United States: National Vital Statistics System
| Change in Life-Years Lost From Change in Disease-Specific Mortality Rates |
||||||
| Cause of Death | Actual Change in Life-Years Lost, No. (%) | All Ages, No. (%) | Aged < 50 Years, % | Aged 50–64 Years, % | Aged 65–79 Years, % | Aged ≥ 80 Years, % |
| Total | 5 910 837 (17) | –1 653 262 (−28) | −9 | −6 | −9 | −3 |
| Largest increase in life-years lost | ||||||
| Accidents (unintentional injuries) | 1 315 573 (44) | 481 632 (16) | 6 | 8 | 1 | 1 |
| Malignant neoplasms | 1 264 778 (16) | −3 027 145 (−38) | −7 | −15 | −13 | −2 |
| Chronic lower respiratory diseases | 670 237 (57) | −34 173 (−3) | −1 | −1 | −4 | 4 |
| Alzheimer’s disease | 558 964 (383) | 383 115 (263) | 0 | 5 | 69 | 189 |
| Intentional self-harm (suicide) | 448 598 (42) | 151 996 (14) | 7 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| Diabetes mellitus | 391 728 (48) | −111 280 (−14) | 3 | −5 | −9 | −2 |
| Chronic liver disease and cirrhosis | 378 269 (70) | 63 362 (12) | −3 | 15 | 0 | 0 |
| Nephritisa | 332 256 (127) | 133 122 (51) | 5 | 17 | 20 | 10 |
| Septicemia | 312 238 (118) | 131 509 (50) | 7 | 21 | 19 | 3 |
| Essential (primary) hypertensionb | 224 794 (170) | 105 290 (80) | 12 | 25 | 20 | 23 |
| Largest decrease in life-years lost | ||||||
| HIV | −1 341 882 (−88) | −1 532 394 (−99) | −92 | −8 | 0 | 0 |
| Diseases of heart | −482 937 (−6) | −4 521 626 (−56) | −4 | −14 | −24 | −14 |
| Assault (homicide) | −176 541 (−18) | −415 704 (−43) | −41 | −2 | −1 | 0 |
| Influenza and pneumonia | −162 859 (−21) | −501 431 (−64) | −11 | −6 | −19 | −28 |
| Congenital malformationsc | −121 225 (−18) | −182 449 (−27) | −26 | 1 | −1 | −1 |
| Perinatal conditionsd | −80 235 (−8) | −138 724 (−14) | −14 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Atherosclerosis | −68 618 (−57) | −117 839 (−98) | −2 | −13 | −33 | −50 |
| Cerebrovascular diseases | −64 217 (−4) | −837 765 (−53) | −6 | −10 | −20 | −17 |
| Aortic aneurysm and dissection | −54 232 (−28) | −138 918 (−72) | −1 | −16 | −41 | −13 |
| Peptic ulcer | −20 311 (−32) | −47 509 (−76) | −11 | −15 | −28 | −22 |
Note. For the 10 causes of death with the largest increase or decrease in life-years lost since 1995, we estimated how much of the change in life-years lost was attributable to changes in disease-specific mortality rates. Appendix C, available as a supplement to the online version of this article at http://www.ajph.org, shows the change in life-years lost attributable to population growth and longer life expectancy.
Nephritis includes nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis.
Essential (primary) hypertension includes hypertensive renal disease, following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s definition for leading causes of death.
Congenital malformations include deformations and chromosomal abnormalities.
Perinatal conditions include causes originating before birth or in the first 28 days of life, excluding congenital malformations, external injury, and neoplasms.