QuickStats: Death Rates* For Persons Aged ≥65 Years, with Diabetes as the Underlying or a Contributing Cause, by Race and Sex --- United States, 1981--2007

* Rates are age-adjusted per 100,000 U.S. standard population aged ≥65 years. Cause of death is based on International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) code 250 (Diabetes mellitus) for 1981--1998 and International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision (ICD-10) codes E10--E14 (Diabetes mellitus) for 1999--2007.

Diabetes is a leading cause of death in the United States and a contributing cause of deaths from many other conditions. In 2007, diabetes was a contributing cause of death 2.4 times as often as it was the underlying cause of death for persons aged ≥65 years. Age-adjusted death rates for deaths with diabetes declined for white and black persons aged ≥65 years from 2005 to 2007, after generally increasing from 1981 to 2002. In 2007, the rate was higher for black men and women than for white men and women.

Sources: 

CDC. National Vital Statistics System. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss.htm.

CDC. Health Data Interactive. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/hdi.htm.