Leading Causes of Death in Females United States, 2008

Below are the leading causes of death in females for 2008.

All Females, All Ages	Percent*
1) Heart disease	24.5
2) Cancer	21.7
3) Stroke	6.5
4) Chronic lower respiratory diseases	5.9
5) Alzheimer’s disease	4.6
6) Unintentional injuries	3.5
7) Diabetes	2.8
8) Influenza and pneumonia	2.5
9) Kidney disease	2.0
10) Septicemia	1.6

All Females by Age Group- United States, 2008

All Females by Race/Ethnicity- United States, 2008

Leading Causes of Death Short and Full Terms

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White Females, All Ages	Percent*
1) Heart disease	24.6
2) Cancer	21.6
3) Chronic lower respiratory diseases	6.4
4) Stroke	6.4
5) Alzheimer’s disease	5.0
6) Unintentional injuries	3.6
7) Diabetes	2.5
8) Influenza and pneumonia	2.5
9) Kidney disease	1.8
10) Septicemia	1.5

White Females by Age Group- United States, 2008

Leading Causes of Death Short and Full Terms

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Black Females, All Ages	Percent*
1) Heart disease	24.9
2) Cancer	21.8
3) Stroke	6.7
4) Diabetes	4.7
5) Kidney disease	3.3
6) Chronic lower respiratory diseases	3.0
7) Unintentional injuries	2.8
8) Alzheimer’s disease	2.6
9) Septicemia	2.5
10) Influenza & pneumonia	2.0

Black Females by Age Group- United States, 2008

Leading Causes of Death Short and Full Terms

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American Indian or Alaska Native Females, All Ages	Percent*
1) Cancer	19.3
2) Heart disease	17.1
3) Unintentional injuries	7.9
4) Diabetes	5.9
5) Chronic liver disease	5.1
6) Chronic lower respiratory diseases	4.7
7) Stroke	4.3
8) Influenza and pneumonia	2.9
9) Kidney disease	2.8
10) Alzheimer’s disease	2.1

American Indian or Alaska Native Females by Age Group- United States, 2008

Leading Causes of Death Short and Full Terms

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Asian or Pacific Islander Females, All Ages	Percent*
1) Cancer	26.9
2) Heart disease	22.3
3) Stroke	8.9
4) Diabetes	3.9
5) Unintentional injuries	3.3
6) Influenza and pneumonia	3.2
7) Alzheimer’s disease	2.6
8) Chronic lower respiratory diseases	2.6
9) Kidney disease	2.0
10) Hypertension	1.7

Asian or Pacific Islander Females by Age Group- United States,
2008

Leading Causes of Death Short and Full Terms

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Hispanic Females, All Ages	Percent*
1) Cancer	21.8
2) Heart disease	21.6
3) Stroke	6.0
4) Diabetes	5.2
5) Unintentional injuries	4.4
6) Alzheimer’s disease	3.3
7) Chronic lower respiratory diseases	3.1
8) Influenza and pneumonia	2.6
9) Kidney disease	2.3
10) Chronic liver disease	2.0

Hispanic Females by Age Group- United States, 2008

Leading Causes of Death Short and Full Terms

*Percent of total deaths in the race category due to the disease indicated. The white, black, American Indian/Alaska Native, and Asian/Pacific Islander race groups include persons of Hispanic and non-Hispanic origin. Persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race.

Some terms in the leading causes of death tables have been shortened from those used in the National Vital Statistics Report. Below is a listing of the shortened terms used in the tables and their full, unabridged equivalents used in the report.

Short Terms	Full Terms
Aortic aneurism	Aortic aneurism and dissection
Appendix disease	Diseases of appendix
Benign neoplasms	In situ neoplasms and neoplasms of uncertain or unknown behavior
Birth defects	Congenital malformations, deformations and chromosomal abnormalities
Bronchitis	Acute bronchitis and bronchiolitis
Cancer	Malignant neoplasms
C. difficile infection	Entercolitis due to clostridium
Chronic liver disease	Chronic liver disease and cirrhosis
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	Includes bronchitis, emphysema, asthma, bronchiectasis, and other chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Diabetes	Diabetes mellitus
Gallbladder disorders	Cholethiasis and other disorders of gallbladder
Heart disease	Diseases of the heart
HIV disease	Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disease
Homicide	Assault (homicide)
Hypertension	Essential (primary) hypertension and hypertensive renal disease
Kidney disease	Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis
Kidney infection	Infections of kidney
Legal intervention*	Physical or other force used by police or other law-enforcing agents, including military on duty, in the course of arresting or attempting to arrest lawbreakers, suppressing disturbances, maintaining order, and other legal action. Includes legal execution and excludes citizen arrest.
Pelvic Inflammatory diseases	Inflammatory diseases of female pelvic organs
Perinatal conditions	Certain conditions orginating in the perinatal period
Pneumonitis	Pneumonitis due to solids and liquids
Pregnancy complications	Pregnancy, childbirth and the peurperium
Stroke	Cerebrovascular diseases
Suicide	Intentional self-harm
Unintentional injuries	Accidents (unintentional injuries)

*World Health Organization. International statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, Tenth Revision (ICD-10). Geneva: World Health Organization, 1992. Available at http://www.who.int/classifications/icd/en/. Accessed April 15, 2010.