U.S. Death Rates Drop Dramatically

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"One of the striking issues is the increase in the life expectancy since really the year 1900 in the developed world," added Dr. Knight Steel, chief of geriatrics at Hackensack University Medical Center and endowed professor of geriatrics at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey.

"All the alternatives to aging are bad," he said. "This is really a plus."

"The time has come to begin to collect data on function and functional decline or lack of it," Steel added. "The nature of diseases has changed, with acute illnesses rapidly being replaced by chronic. Ideally, it would be nice to know not only that life expectancy has been extended, but that function and quality of life has been improved in that extended period."

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The report also showed that age-adjusted death rates declined to a record low of 801 deaths per 100,000 population in 2004, down from almost 833 deaths per 100,000 the year before. Both genders as well as all racial groups showed declines in this category.

"The trends in age-adjusted death rates we expected because we've been seeing an increase in life expectancy for some years now," Miniño said.

He added that "the increase in life expectancy for the population in general and the closing of certain gaps have long been established. The gap between black and white has also been decreasing for several years, and this trend continues."

All the sex, race and Hispanic-origin groups described in this report showed significant decreases in the age-adjusted death rate between 2003 and 2004.

The preliminary, estimated number of total deaths in the United States for 2004 was 2,398,343.

Leading causes of death in 2004 were still heart disease, cancer and stroke. Overall, the 15 leading causes of death remained the same in 2004 as in 2003, but Alzheimer's disease overtook influenza/pneumonia. Alzheimer's is now the seventh leading cause, with influenza and pneumonia close behind at number eight.

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