'COVID No Longer a Top 10 Cause of Death in the U.S.'

 For the first time since the pandemic began, COVID-19 is no longer a top 10 cause of death in the U.S., CDC researchers reported.

In 2024 provisional data, suicide replaced COVID as the 10th leading underlying cause of death, Robert N. Anderson, PhD, of the CDC, and colleagues wrote in a CDC National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) reportopens in a new tab or window.

At 3,072,039 deaths, it marks the lowest overall number since the pandemic started, following highs of roughly 3.4 million in 2020 and 2021.

And the overall rate of 722 deaths per 100,000 population in 2024 was comparable with prepandemic figures and 3.8% lower compared with 2023 (750.5 per 100,000), the researchers reported.

COVID peaked at number three on the top 10 list in 2020opens in a new tab or window and 2021opens in a new tab or window, just behind cardiovascular disease and cancer both years, accounting for 345,323 and 415,399 deaths, respectively.

The disease fell to the number four cause of death in 2022opens in a new tab or window, and dropped to number 10 in 2023opens in a new tab or window.

"'It's pretty noteworthy that COVID-19 fell off the top 10, and suicide, which ... had fallen off in recent years, is ... ranked again," co-author Farida Ahmad, MPH, told ABC Newsopens in a new tab or window. "I think that's a pretty interesting finding given where we spent the last 5 years."

She added that COVID remains in the top 15 causes of death in the U.S. While not mentioned in the report, provisional numbers from the CDCopens in a new tab or window show about 45,000 COVID deaths last year.

In the 2024 provisional data, the three leading causes of death were heart disease (683,037), cancer (619,812), and unintentional injury (196,488). Other causes included stroke, chronic lower respiratory diseases, Alzheimer's disease, diabetes, kidney disease, and chronic liver disease and cirrhosis. There were a total of 48,683 deaths by suicide.

Death rates were higher for males than females (844.8 vs 613.5 per 100,000). They were lowest for multiracial people (332.3 per 100,000) and highest for Black people (884 per 100,000).

The report was based on information from 99.9% of all 2024 death records received and processed by NCHS as of June 1, 2025. It was limited because the data are provisional, and may change as more information is received. Final data are published 11 months after year-end.

Disclosures

The authors disclosed no financial conflicts of interest.

Primary Source

CDC National Center for Health Statistics

Source Reference: Ahmad FB, et al "Mortality in the United States: provisional data, 2024" Vital Statistics Rapid Release 2025; DOI: 10.15620/cdc/174621.

https://www.medpagetoday.com/infectiousdisease/covid19/117404