Child Deaths

Childhood is a time of good health and fun times. After the first year of life, the death rate drops very low, to the lowest rate of any time of life of about 1 in 5,000.

Death rates: For ages 1-4 years, the death rate drops way down to 0.034% (1 in 2,941) on average, compared to 0.706% (1-in-141) for the first year of life. The death rates for 5-9 years are 0.017% (1 in 5,882), and for 10-14 years it is 0.021% (1 in 4,761).

Top Ten Causes of Death:

Age 1-4 years: For age 1-4 years the death rate is 0.034% (1 in 2,941) and the top ten causes of death in USA 1999 were:

• accidents (36.2%),
• congenital defects including chromosome conditions (10.5%),
• cancer (8.0%),
• homicide (7.2%),
• heart disease (3.5%),
• influenza and pneumonia (2.5%),
• perinatal conditions (1.8%),
• septicemia (1.7%),
• non-malignant cancers (1.2%),
• chronic lower respiratory diseases (1.0%), and
• other causes (26.7%) [CDC NVSR 2001].

Age 5-9 years: For ages 5-9 years, the death rate is 0.017% (1 in 5,882) and the top ten causes of death in USA 1999 were:

• accidents (42.0%),
• cancer (14.7%),
• congenital defects including chromosome conditions (6.0%),
• homicide (5.4%),
• heart disease (3.3%),
• non-malignant cancers (1.8%),
• chronic lower respiratory diseases (1.4%),
• septicemia (1.4%),
• influenza and pneumonia (1.3%),
• HIV (1.1%), and
• other causes (21.7%) [CDC NVSR 2001].

Age 10-14 years: For ages 10-14 years, the death rate is 0.021% (1 in 4,761) and the top ten causes of death in USA 1999 were:

• accidents (39.6%),
• cancer (12.2%),
• homicide (6.0%),
• suicide (5.9%),
• congenital defects including chromosome conditions (5.4%),
• heart disease (3.9%),
• chronic lower respiratory disease (2.2%),
• influenza and pneumonia (1.1%),
• cerebrovascular diseases including stroke (0.9%),
• non-malignant cancers (0.9%), and
• other causes (21.9%) [CDC NVSR 2001].