HIV drops from top 15 causes of U.S. deaths

Fewer children dying from gunshots, statistics also show

July 24, 2000
Web posted at: 8:54 p.m. EDT (0054 GMT)

In this story: Drug cocktails credited for decline Guns still kill 10 children a day Life expectancy up RELATED STORIES, SITES

From staff and wire reports

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The HIV virus has fallen off a federal list of the 15 leading causes of death in the United States for the first time since 1987.

But the AIDS-related virus was the top killer of black men and women between the ages of 25 and 44, according to a Centers for Disease Control report that contains the list and other death statistics for 1998.

RESOURCES Gun Deaths Among Children and Teens Drop Sharply Summary Full report (PDF format)     MESSAGE BOARD AIDS prevention

The CDC's National Center for Health Statistics also reported that fewer U.S. teens and children are being killed by gunfire, perhaps because of crime prevention efforts.

The report, released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, shows the number of firearm deaths for youths under the age of 20 fell in 1998 by 10 percent from 1997, and 35 percent since 1994.

Heart disease was the leading cause of death followed by cancer, according to the report.

Heart disease mortality has generally been declining since 1950, and cancer mortality has shown a gradual but consistent downward trend since 1990.

Stroke was the third-leading cause of death on the 1998 list.

HIV has been listed in the CDC's top 15 leading causes of death since 1987, the year the infection first made the list. In 1998, HIV was replaced by hypertension as one of the top 15 killers.

The decline in HIV-related deaths is attributed to cocktails of drugs that do not cure patients but can ward off death and keep them healthier.

The list does not rank causes of death beyond the top 15, so it's not clear how far HIV fell.

According to the report, 30,708 people of all ages died from gunshot injuries in 1998, a 5 percent drop from 1997.

"While these figures are encouraging, there is no question that gun violence is still far too prevalent in our nation," U.S. President Bill Clinton said in a statement. "All of us must work together towards a solution."

Despite the decrease, children younger than 20 still accounted for 12.3 percent of all firearm deaths in 1998.

According to the report, 3,792 children and adolescents died from firearm injuries in 1998, down 10 percent from 4,223 in 1997 and down 35 percent from the high of 5,833 in 1994.

"Each day, 10 children and teens are killed by firearms, and that is 10 too many," Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala said in a statement. "However, it is a significant decrease from four years earlier. This indicates that violence prevention efforts are showing results."

Clinton asked parents to help. "Parents must ensure that guns are stored safely to prevent accidental shootings," he said. "Schools and communities must give children positive alternatives to steer them away from guns and violence."

He added: "Law enforcement must crack down on gun traffickers who supply young people with firearms and armed criminals who commit violence against our children. And the gun industry must responsibly design, distribute and market its products to make sure they do not fall into the wrong hands."

The leading 15 causes of death in 1998 accounted for 84.2 percent of all deaths in the United States.

After stroke, the top causes of death were: chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, accidents and adverse affects, pneumonia and influenza, diabetes, suicide, kidney disease, chronic liver disease, septicemia, Alzheimer's disease, homicide, arteriosclerosis, and hypertension.

Other data from the CDC's report show that life expectancy at birth increased to a record high of 76.7 years in 1998, up from 76.5 in 1997. Deaths from arteriosclerosis, the buildup of fat in the arteries, fell by nearly 10 percent in 1998.

The research, based on death certificates, found that someone age 15 in 1998 could expect to live to be 77.5, a year longer than someone who turned 15 in 1993.

Whites can expect to live 6 years longer than blacks. And blacks were nearly 6 times as likely to be murdered than whites.

The infant mortality rate remained unchanged in 1998, at 7.2 infant deaths per 1,000 live births. The death rate for African-American infants was twice that of white babies.

Death rates from a variety of diseases all fell in 1998, the CDC found.

The death rate from arteriosclerosis dropped 9.5 percent, and deaths by homicide dropped nearly 9 percent, the study reported. Alzheimer's disease mortality fell nearly 4 percent.

Deaths from stroke, heart disease, and chronic liver disease dropped by about 3 percent each, suicide mortality fell nearly 2 percent and cancer deaths were reduced by 1.6 percent, the report found.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
National Center for Health Statistics

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