The graph below depicts U.S. preliminary deaths and death rates per 100,000 population for the six leading causes of unintentional injury-related deaths in 2022 by age, through age 99. Additional years of data are also available (see Using the Charts and Tables).
- Chart
- Data Table
The Six Leading Causes of Death
caused by unintentional injury in 2022 (preliminary)
#1: Poisoning: 103,486 deaths
- Average of 31.1 deaths per 100,000 population
- Rate increased steadily from 2.02 at age 15 to its peak of 63.5 at age 41
- Leading cause of preventable death for all ages combined for the tenth consecutive year
- Leading cause of preventable death for every age from 22 to 68
- Largely due to the opioid epidemic affecting millions of people in the United States
- On an average day, 214 people die from preventable poisonings due to opioid drugs
#2: Falls: 46,653 deaths
- Average rate of 14.0 deaths per 100,000 population
- Beginning at about age 67, the death rate from falls increased dramatically
- Surpassing the number of motor-vehicle and poisoning deaths at age 69 and remained higher throughout the lifespan, peaking at age 87
- Death rate peaked at age 99, with a rate of 753.7 per 100,000 population
#3: Motor-vehicle crashes: 46,036 deaths
- Average rate of 13.8 deaths per 100,000 population
- Death rate peaks at 19.5 for 23-year-olds and again at 24.2 for 87-year-olds
- Leading cause of preventable death for every age from 4 to 21
- Second leading cause of preventable death for every age from 22 to 67
#3: Choking: 5,554 deaths
- Average rate of 1.7 deaths per 100,000 population
- Death rates due to choking on inhaled or ingested food or other objects were quite low for most ages
- Rates rose rapidly beginning at about age 71
#5: Drowning: 4,177 deaths
- Average rate of 1.3 deaths per 100,000 population
- While relatively stable and low for all ages, the death rates for drowning showed peaks in the first few years of life and again at some very old ages
- Leading cause of preventable death from age 1 through 3
#6: Fire, Flames, or Smoke: 3,490 deaths
- Average rate of 1.0 death per 100,000 population
- Slightly elevated at very young ages; death rate peaked at age 95, with a rate of 8.3 per 100,000 population
Among infants younger than 1, mechanical suffocation was the leading cause of preventable-injury death, followed by motor-vehicle incidents. Drowning deaths were the leading cause of death from 1 to 3 years of age, closely followed by motor-vehicle.