Public Health: The Top Killers

PUBLIC HEALTH

Reporting on the statistics of death in the U.S., the National Health Education Committee, supported by funds from the Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation, left no doubt about the identity of the nation's No. 1 killer: heart, kidney and circulatory diseases, including strokes, which accounted for 55% of the nearly 2,000,000 deaths in 1962. The second-place killer is cancer (16%). The other major causes of death: accidents (6%), diseases in the newborn (4%), influenza and pneumonia (3%), diabetes (2%), congenital malformations (1%), cirrhosis of the liver (1%) and suicide (1%).

...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!