CDC Issues Top 10 Leading Causes of Death for 2020

Provisional numbers put COVID-19 at No. 3
By Kate Seamons,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 31, 2021 11:50 AM CDT
COVID-19 Made Up 11% of US Deaths Last Year
In this Monday, Aug. 31, 2020 file photo, some of the nearly 900 large poster-sized photos of Detroit victims of COVID-19 are displayed on Belle Isle in Detroit.   (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

New data from the CDC frames COVID-19's toll in a different way: It contributed to a 15.9% increase in the death rate in 2020. Last year there were 828.7 deaths per 100,000 people, compared to 715.2 in 2019. Time reports it's the highest figure since 2003. The provisional data puts COVID as the third leading cause of death among Americans, and responsible for about 11.3% of the deaths recorded in 2020. Its entry onto the list pushed suicide out of the top 10, reports CNN. Final data is expected in November, but for now, here are the 10 leading underlying cases of death in 2020 along with corresponding number of deaths:

  1. Heart disease: 690,882.
  2. Cancer: 598,932.
  3. COVID-19: 345,323.
  4. Unintentional injury: 192,176.
  5. Stroke: 159,050.
  6. Chronic lower respiratory disease: 151,637.
  7. Alzheimer's disease: 133,382.
  8. Diabetes: 101,106.
  9. Influenza and pneumonia: 53,495.
  10. Kidney disease: 52,260.
(More coronavirus stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X