Causes of Excess Deaths in the US Compared With Other High-Income Countries

What causes of death accounted for excess deaths in the US compared with other high-income countries from 1999 to 2022?In this cross-sectional study of more than 63.5 million deaths in the US, circulatory diseases accounted for the largest number of excess US deaths, increasing after 2001 for ages 45 to 64 years and after 2009 for ages 65 years or older. Drug poisonings, alcohol, and suicide accounted for 24% of the increase in excess US deaths overall and most of the increase for ages 0 to 44 years.The findings suggest that the rise in excess mortality is due largely to increases in circulatory and metabolic diseases, drug poisonings, alcohol-related deaths, and suicide.

Corresponding Author: Jacob Bor, PhD, Department of Global Health, Boston University School of Public Health, 801 Massachusetts Ave, Crosstown Building, Boston, MA 02118 (jbor@bu.edu).

Link to the article in your story

We encourage you to link out to this article in your story using the link below. It includes an access token that will give free access to the article for your readers up to one year after publication. (The link will be live after the article publishes and embargo is lifted.)

Please see the article for additional information, including full author list, author contributions and affiliations, conflict of interest and financial disclosures, and funding and support.

Need more information? Contact us.