Leading Causes of Death – Females – Non-Hispanic white – United States, 2016

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Non-Hispanic white, All ages
Non-Hispanic white by Age Group
Short and Full Terms
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Non-Hispanic white¹, Female, All ages²

Leading Causes of Death, United States, Non-Hispanic white Females, 2016, all races and origins, all ages
Non-Hispanic white, Female, All ages	Percent
1) Heart disease	22.1%
2) Cancer	20.8%
3) Chronic lower respiratory diseases	6.8%
4) Alzheimer’s disease	6.4%
5) Stroke	6.0%
6) Unintentional injuries	4.3%
7) Diabetes	2.2%
8) Influenza and pneumonia	2.0%
9) Kidney disease	1.6%
10) Septicemia	1.5%

¹Persons identified as white, black, American Indian or Alaska Native, or Asian or Pacific Islander were of non-Hispanic origin. Persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race. Figures for origin not stated are included in “all races and origins” but not distributed among race and Hispanic origin groups. For more information on race and Hispanic origin classification please see the Technical Notes section of “Deaths: Leading Causes for 2016”.
²Figures include all ages, including age not stated.

Non-Hispanic white¹, Female, by Age Group

Leading Causes of Death, 2016, Non-Hispanic white Female, by Age Group
	Age Group³
Rank²	1-19 years	20-44 years	45-64 years	65-84 years	85+ years	All ages
1	Unintentional injuries 36.0%	Unintentional injuries 33.6%	Cancer 35.3%	Cancer 27.9%	Heart disease 28.2%	Heart disease 22.1%
2	Suicide 11.7%	Cancer 15.1%	Heart disease 15.4%	Heart disease 19.4%	Alzheimer’s disease 10.8%	Cancer 20.8%
3	Cancer 10.4%	Suicide 9.0%	Unintentional injuries 7.3%	Chronic lower respiratory diseases 9.6%	Cancer 10.1%	Chronic lower respiratory diseases 6.8%
4	Birth defects 5.7%	Heart disease 8.1%	Chronic lower respiratory diseases 6.2%	Stroke 5.5%	Stroke 8.0%	Alzheimer’s disease 6.4%
5	Homicide 4.6%	Chronic liver disease 3.0%	Chronic liver disease 3.6%	Alzheimer’s disease 4.5%	Chronic lower respiratory diseases 5.1%	Stroke 6.0%
6	Heart disease 3.3%	Homicide 2.5%	Stroke 3.0%	Diabetes 2.7%	Unintentional injuries 2.8%	Unintentional injuries 4.3%
7	Influenza and pneumonia 1.6%	Diabetes 1.9%	Diabetes 3.0%	Unintentional injuries 2.4%	Influenza and pneumonia 2.4%	Diabetes 2.2%
8	Benign neoplasms 1.0%	Stroke 1.6%	Suicide 2.6%	Kidney disease 1.8%	Hypertension 1.7%	Influenza and pneumonia 2.0%
9	Stroke 0.9%	Pregnancy complications 1.4%	Septicemia 1.7%	Influenza and pneumonia 1.8%	Kidney disease 1.7%	Kidney disease 1.6%
10	Septicemia 0.9%	Septicemia 1.3%	Influenza and pneumonia 1.5%	Septicemia 1.7%	Diabetes 1.5%	Septicemia 1.5%

¹Persons identified as white, black, American Indian or Alaska Native, or Asian or Pacific Islander were of non-Hispanic origin. Persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race. For more information on race and Hispanic origin classification please see the Technical Notes section of “Deaths: Leading Causes for 2016”.
²Based on number of deaths. Tie ranks are listed in order of ICD-10 code.
³Figures for age not stated are included in “all ages” but not distributed among age groups.

Short and Full Terms – 2016

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 and Full Terms – Leading Causes of Death 2016
Short Term	Full Term
Benign neoplasms	In situ neoplasms, benign neoplasms and neoplasms of uncertain or unknown behavior
Birth defects	Congenital malformations, deformations and chromosomal abnormalities
Cancer	Malignant neoplasms
Chronic liver disease	Chronic liver disease and cirrhosis
Diabetes	Diabetes mellitus
Heart disease	Diseases of heart
HIV disease	Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disease
Homicide	Assault (homicide)
Hypertension	Essential hypertension and hypertensive renal disease
Kidney disease	Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis
Medical complications	Complications of medical and surgical care
Perinatal conditions	Certain conditions originating in the perinatal period
Pregnancy complications	Pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium
Stroke	Cerebrovascular diseases
Suicide	Intentional self-harm (suicide)
Unintentional injuries	Accidents (unintentional injuries)