NCHS 50 Rankable Causes of Death

In order to provide a consistent grouping and ranking standard, the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) prepared a List of 113 Selected Causes of Death. Fifty causes on that list were designated as eligible to be ranked as leading causes of death. For more information about the NCHS rankings see Cause of Death Ranking on the NCHS website.

ICD-9 was used to code death causes from 1979 through 1998. ICD-9 codes and comparability ratios are included below for comparison to pre-1999 mortality data. ICD-9-CM is still is use for hospital and emergency department diagnoses and procedures.

A full list of ICD codes is available at http://www.who.int/classifications/icd/en/.


Cause of Death ICD-9 Codes ICD-10 Codes Comparability Ratio Standard Error Note
1 Salmonella infections 002-003 A01-A02 0.81 0.0644
2 Shigellosis and amebiasis 004, 006 A03, A06 ** **
3 Tuberculosis 010-018 A16-A19 0.85 0.0172
4 Whooping cough 033 A37 ** **
5 Scarlet fever and erysipelas 034.1 - 035 A38, A46 ** **
6 Meningococcal infection 036 A39 1.00 0.0149
7 Septicemia 038 A40-A41 1.19 0.0042
8 Syphilis 090-097 A50-A53 0.64 0.1184
9 Acute poliomyelitis 045 A80 ** **
10 Arthropod-borne viral encephalitis 062-064 A83-A84, A85.2 ** **
11 Measles 055 B05 ** **
12 Viral hepatitis 070 B15-B19 0.83 0.0120
13 Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disease 042-044 B20-B24 1.06 0.0018
14 Malaria 084 B50-B54 ** **
15 Malignant neoplasms 140-208 C00-C97 1.01 0.0002 Common name: Cancer
16 In situ neoplasms, benign neoplasms and neoplasms of uncertain or unknown behavior 210-239 D00-D48 1.67 0.0164
17 Anemias 280-285 D50-D64 0.96 0.0077
18 Diabetes mellitus 250 E10-E14 1.01 0.0011
19 Nutritional deficiencies 260-269 E40-E64 1.16 0.0165
20 Meningitis 320-322 G00, G03 1.01 0.0136
21 Parkinson's disease 332 G20-G21 1.00 0.0028
22 Alzheimer's disease 331.0 G30 1.55 0.0071
23 Diseases of heart 390-398, 402, 404, 410-429 I00-I09, I11, I13, I20-I51 0.99 0.0002 Common name: Heart disease
24 Essential hypertension and hypertensive renal disease 401, 403 I10, I12, I15 1.12 0.0050
25 Cerebrovascular diseases 430-434, 436-438 I60-I69 1.06 0.0008 Common name: Stroke
26 Atherosclerosis 440 I70 0.96 0.0025
27 Aortic aneurysm and dissection 441 I71 1.00 0.0010
28 Influenza and pneumonia 480-487 J09-J18 0.70 0.0018
29 Acute bronchitis and bronchiolitis 466 J20-J21 0.75 0.0264
30 Chronic lower respiratory diseases (CLRD) 490-494, 496 J40-J47 1.05 0.0009 Includes chronic bronchitis, emphysema, asthma, and other CLRDs
31 Pneumoconioses and chemical effects 500-506 J60-J66, J68 1.02 0.0099
32 Pneumonitis due to solids and liquids 507 J69 1.12 0.0048
33 Peptic ulcer 531-534 K25-K28 0.97 0.0045
34 Diseases of appendix 540-543 K35-K38 1.03 0.0242
35 Hernia 550-553 K40-K46 1.04 0.0154
36 Chronic liver disease and cirrhosis 571 K70, K73-K74 1.04 0.0027
37 Cholelithiasis and other disorders of gallbladder 574-575 K80-K82 0.96 0.0060
38 Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis 580-589 N00-N07, N17-N19, N25-N27 1.23 0.0044 Common name: Kidney disease
39 Infections of kidney 590 N10-N12, N13.6, N15.1 1.01 0.0144
40 Hyperplasia of prostate 600 N40 1.00 0.0159
41 Inflammatory diseases of female pelvic organs 614-616 N70-N76 0.98 0.0410
42 Pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium 630-676 O00-O99 ** **
43 Certain conditions originating in the perinatal period 760-771.2, 771.4-779 P00-P96 1.07 0.0033
44 Congenital malformations, deformations and chromosomal abnormalities 740-759 Q00-Q99 0.85 0.0055 Common names: Birth defects or Congenital anomalies
45 Unintentional injuries E800-E869, E880-E929 V01-X59, Y85-Y86 1.03 0.0014
46 Intentional self-harm (suicide) E950-E959 X60-X84, Y87.0, *U03 1.00 0.0005
47 Assault (homicide) E960-E969, E979, E999 X85-Y09, Y87.1, *U01-*U02 1.00 0.0006
48 Legal intervention E970-E978 Y35, Y89.0 ** **
49 Operations of war and their sequelae E990-E998 Y36, Y89.1 ** **
50 Complications of medical and surgical care E870-E879, E930-E949 Y40-Y84, Y88 ** **

The new ICD codes for terrorism are preceded with '*'. See Classification of Death and Injury Resulting from Terrorism on the CDC website.

** Figure does not meet NCHS standards for reliability or precision.

Mortality Query Mortality Query
33 Major Causes of Death List of 33 Major Causes of Death
Query Help Query Help Page
113 Causes of Death List of 113 Selected Causes of Death
Main Help Main Help Page
Home Page NJSHAD Home Page
Center for Health Statistics, New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services, PO Box 360, Trenton, NJ 08625-0360, Phone: 609-984-6703, Fax: 609-984-7633, e-mail: chs@doh.state.nj.us, Web: www.nj.gov/health/chs
The information provided above is from the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services' NJSHAD Web site (http://nj.gov/health/shad). The information published on this website may be reproduced without permission. Please use the following citation: "Retrieved Wed, 16 May 2012 16:21:38 from New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services, Center for Health Statistics, State Health Assessment Data Web site: http://nj.gov/health/shad".

Content updated: Wed, 2 May 2012 04:01:14 EDT