title: Deaths: leading causes for 2003.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This report presents final 2003 data on the 10 leading causes of death in the United States by age, race, sex, and Hispanic origin. Leading causes of infant, neonatal, and postneonatal death are also presented. This report supplements the annual report of final mortality statistics.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data in this report are based on information from all death certificates filed in the 50 states and the District of Columbia in 2003. Causes of death classified by the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) are ranked according to the number of deaths assigned to rankable causes.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In 2003, the 10 leading causes of death were (in rank order): Diseases of heart; Malignant neoplasms; Cerebrovascular diseases; Chronic lower respiratory diseases; Accidents (unintentional injuries); Diabetes mellitus; Influenza and pneumonia; Alzheimer's disease; Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis; and Septicemia and accounted for about 78 percent of all deaths occurring in the United States. Differences in the ranking are evident by age, sex, race, and Hispanic origin. Leading causes of infant death for 2003 were (in rank order): Congenital malformations, deformations and chromosomal abnormalities; Disorders related to short gestation and low birth weight, not elsewhere classified; Sudden infant death syndrome; Newborn affected by maternal complications of pregnancy; Newborn affected by complications of placenta, cord and membranes; Accidents (unintentional injuries); Respiratory distress of newborn; Bacterial sepsis of newborn; Neonatal hemorrhage; and Diseases of the circulatory system. Important variation in the leading causes of infant death is noted for the neonatal and postneonatal periods.
authors.affiliation: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Center for Health StatisticS Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Vital Statistics System, Hyattsville, MD 20782, USA.
authors.forename: Melonie P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Heron
authors.forename: Betty L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Smith
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002423:Cause of Death; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D017281:Cost of Illness; D003644:Death Certificates; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007226:Infant Mortality; D038801:International Classification of Diseases; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009309:National Center for Health Statistics, U.S.; D040442:Public Health Informatics; D017678:Sex Distribution; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology