THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, December 18, 1994 TAG: 9412200527
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A8 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: ATLANTA LENGTH: Short : 43 lines
Despite the outbreak of AIDS, Americans are living longer than ever - an average of almost 76 years, the government says.
The death rate in the United States was the lowest ever in 1992, falling to 504.5 per 100,000 people, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday. A total of 2,175,613 people died.
The 1992 infant mortality rate reached an all-time low of 8.5 deaths per 1,000 live births, compared with 8.9 per 1,000 in 1991.
The average life expectancy climbed to an all-time high of 75.8, the number of years a person born in 1992 could expect to live. That was up from 75.5 in 1991.
Death rates for 12 of the 15 leading killers dropped in 1992, said CDC statistician Ken Kochanek. But deaths from AIDS jumped sharply, and there was little or no change in the rates of death from diabetes and kidney disease. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
HOW WE DIE
The 10 leading causes of death in the United States, ranked
according to number of lives claimed.
1. Heart disease.
2. Cancer.
3. Stroke.
4. Lung disease.
5. Accidents.
6. Pneumonia and influenza.
7. Diabetes.
8. AIDS.
9. Suicide.
10. Homicide.
by CNB