Then and Now in New Jersey:
Comparison Between 1897 and 1997
LEADING
CAUSES OF DEATH: 1897 AND 1997
Rank
1897
1997
Cause of Death1
No.
Rate2
Cause of Death1
No.
Rate2
1
Acute Lung Diseases
4,039
228.9
Diseases of theHeart
23,157
287.6
2
Diarrhoeal Diseases of Children
3,450
195.6
MalignantNeoplasms
17,910
222.4
3
Consumption (Tuberculosis)
3,237
183.5
Cerebrovascular Diseases
4,210
52.3
4
Adult Brain and Spinal Diseases
2,582
146.4
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary
Diseases
2,775
34.5
5
Diseases of Heart and Circulation
2,475
140.3
Pneumonia/Influenza
2,443
30.3
6
Brain and Nervous Diseases of
Children
1,809
102.5
Diabetes Mellitus
2,400
29.8
7
Renal and Cystic Diseases
1,752
99.3
Unintentional Injuries
2,159
26.8
8
Violent Deaths
1,685
95.5
Septicemia
1,311
16.3
9
Digestive and Intestinal Diseases
1,572
89.1
Nephritis & Nephrosis
1,091
13.5
10
Diphtheria and Croup
1,382
78.3
HIV Infection
1,023
12.7
Notes:
Definitions and groupings of causes of death
have changed over the 100-year period.
Rates by cause are crude death rates per 100,000
population.
Sources: Twenty-First Annual Report of the Board of Health of the State
of New Jersey, and Report of the Bureau of Vital Statistics,
1897. The State Board of Health, Trenton, NJ. 1898. New Jersey Health Statistics, 1997. New Jersey Department
of Health and Senior Services, Center for Health Statistics, Trenton,
NJ. 2000.
