Homicide declines as cause of death

ATLANTA – For the first time in almost half a century, homicide has fallen off the list of the nation’s top 15 causes of death, bumped by a lung illness that often develops in elderly people who have choked on their food.

The 2010 list, released by the government Wednesday, reflects at least two major trends: Murders are down, and deaths from certain diseases are on the rise as the population ages, health authorities said.

Homicide was overtaken at No. 15 by pneumonitis, seen mainly in people 75 and older. It happens when food or vomit goes down the windpipe and causes deadly damage to the lungs.

This is the first time since 1965 that homicide failed to make the list, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC’s latest annual report on deaths contained several nuggets of good news:

• The infant mortality rate dropped to an all-time low of 6.14 deaths per 1,000 births in 2010. It was 6.39 the year before.

• U.S. life expectancy for a child born in 2010 was about 78 years and 8 months, up about a little more than one month from life expectancy for 2009.

• Heart disease and cancer remain the top killers, accounting for nearly half the nation’s more than 2.4 million deaths in 2010. But the death rates from them continued to decline.

The government has been keeping a list of the top causes of death since 1949. Homicide has historically ranked fairly low. It was as high as 10th in 1989 and in 1991 through 1993, when the nation saw a surge in youth homicides related to the crack epidemic.

Murders have been declining nationally since 2006, according to FBI statistics.

Criminologists have debated the reasons but believe several factors may be at work. Among them: Abusive relationships don’t end in murder as often as they once did, thanks to increased incarcerations and better, earlier support for victims.

“We’ve taken the home out of homicide,” said James Alan Fox, a Northeastern University criminologist who studies murder data.

Some also credit better police work and public health programs aimed at reducing violence.

Demographics are an important factor, too, as the largest segment of the population is now 50 and older. Younger people – who are most likely to commit or fall victim to murder – are making up a smaller share of the population.