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Theodore C. Doege, MD, MS
American Medical Association, Department of Risk Assessment Chicago, Ill

JAMA. 1991;265(17):2189-2190.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

To the Editor.—

Reviewing trends in death rates over recent decades, as did a recent article by Sutherland et al,¹ provides essential information that can help physicians focus on major causes of morbidity and guide the allocation of resources for prevention and research. The article by Sutherland and coworkers, I believe, understates the current impact of injuries. Injuries are not "the fourth leading cause of death," but the third leading cause. The authors' data in Fig 3 (p 3180) indicate that the death rate from injuries is higher than that from cerebrovascular disease, which they state is the "third leading cause of death." According to final age-adjusted mortality data for 1986 from the National Center for Health Statistics, the following were the four highest death rates per 100 000 persons in the United States: heart disease, 175.4; cancer, 132.5; unintended injuries, 35.5; and cerebrovascular disease, 30.4.²

Unintended injuries, . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

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