Context for the Current News on Death Rates

Some recent media coverage has me thinking about the U.S. death rate from various means. Here are the ones that catch the headlines:

Suicide: 13 per 1000,000 (2014 stats, source), which breaks down to 20.7 for men and 5.8 for women

Overdose: 15 per 1000,000 (2014 stats, source); of those, 8 per 100,000 are from opioids

Homicide: 4.5 per 100,000 (2013 statistics, source)

Car crashes: 10.2 per 100,000 (2014 stats, source), from a high of 25.7 in Wyoming to a low of 4.9 in Massachusetts

Which is close to 43 deaths per 100,000, altogether.

For some perspective, the total number of deaths per 100,000 in 2013 was 725, so those 43 deaths are just about 6 percent of the total. Cancer (167 per 100,000) and heart disease (161) account for close to half the total deaths (source).

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An earlier post on suicide and dying before "your time."