Did You Know? | Kidneys might be small, but they have a big job

FastStats - Leading Causes of Death

• Kidney diseases are the ninth leading cause of death in the United States.
• Kidneys can become damaged by diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, and other causes, leading to a condition called chronic kidney disease.
• Health professionals can improve patient outcomes [PDF-3.7MB]by using strategies outlined in CDC’s Chronic Kidney Disease Initiative [PDF-1.4MB].

Leading Causes of Death

Number of deaths for leading causes of death

• Heart disease: 614,348
  • Cancer: 591,699
  • Chronic lower respiratory diseases: 147,101
  • Accidents (unintentional injuries): 136,053
  • Stroke (cerebrovascular diseases): 133,103
  • Alzheimer's disease: 93,541
  • Diabetes: 76,488
  • Influenza and pneumonia: 55,227
  • Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome, and nephrosis: 48,146
  • Intentional self-harm (suicide): 42,773

Source: Health United States, 2015 Table 19 [PDF- 9.8 MB] (Data are for 2014)

More data

• Changes in the Leading Cause of Death: Recent Patterns in Heart Disease and Cancer Mortality
• Deaths and mortality
• Deaths: Final Data for 2014[PDF - 4.4 MB]
• Deaths: Leading Causes for 2014[PDF - 3.5 MB]
• Deaths, percent of total deaths, and death rates for the 15 leading causes of death: United States and each State
• How Does Cause of Death Contribute to the Hispanic Mortality Advantage in the United States?
• Leading Causes of Death Contributing to the Decrease in the Gap in Life Expectancy Between the Black and White Populations in the United States, 1999-2013
• Mortality in the United States, 2014

Related Links

• Mortality data
• Linked birth and infant death data