In public health, a big killer is a disease or other major cause of loss of human life.

For big killers of the past, see pandemics.

Examples include:

• Cancer: 23 % of deaths
• Circulatory diseases: 36 %.
• Diabetes : 1/3 of heart attack victims suffer from diabetes.
• Infectious diseases : AIDS and tuberculosis
• Mental illness : 30 % of people in the community suffers one. Prevalent are Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease, as well as Clinical depression, which can however be controlled by medication and/or outpatient therapy for the overwhelming majority
• Traffic accidents

United States deaths

Ten Leading Causes of Death in the United States in the year 2001:

1. Heart disease: 700,142
2. Cancer: 553,768
3. Stroke: 163,538
4. Chronic lower respiratory disease: 123,013
5. Accidents: 101,537 (a majority of these are automobile accidents)
6. Diabetes: 71,372
7. Pneumonia and Influenza: 62,034
8. Alzheimer's disease: 53,852
9. Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome, and nephrosis: 39,480
10. Septicemia: 32,238

Source: Leading Causes of Death (http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/lcod.htm) - National Vital Statistics Report - United States National Center for Health Statistics

World Health Organization deaths

2002

By disease, conditions

1. Ischaemic heart disease 7,208,000 13%
2. Cerebrovascular disease 5,509,000 10%
3. Lower respiratory infections 3,884,000 7%
4. HIV/AIDS 2,777,000 5%
5. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease 2,748,000 5%
6. Perinatal conditions (low birthweight, birth asphyxia, birth trauma) 2,462,000 4%
7. Diarrhoeal diseases 1,798,000 3%
8. Tuberculosis 1,566,000 3%
9. Malaria 1,272,000 2%
10. Trachea/broncus/lung cancers 1,243,000 2%
11. Road traffic accidents 1,192,000 2%
12. Childhood diseases (petussis, polio, diphtheria, measles, tetanus) 1,124,000 2%
13. Diabetes mellitus 988,000 2%
14. Other unintentional injuries (besides road traffic accidents, poisoning, falls, fires, drowning) 923,000 2%
15. Hypertensive heart disease 911,000 2%
16. Self-inflicted injuries (suicide) 873,000 2%
17. Stomach cancer 850,000 2%
18. Cirrhosis of the liver 786,000 1%
19. Nephritis/nephrosis 677,000 1%
20. Colon/rectum cancer 622,000 1%
21. Liver cancer 618,000 1%
22. Violence 559,000 1%
23. Breast cancer 477,000 1%
24. Oesophagus cancer 446,000 1%
25. Inflammatory heart disease 404,000 1%
26. Alzheimer and other dementias 397,000 1%
27. Falls 392,000 1%

By category

1. Cardiovascular diseases: 16 733 000 27%
2. Infectious and parasitic diseases: 10 904 000 19%
3. Malignant neoplasms: 7,121,000 13%
4. Respiratory infections: 3,963,000 7%
5. Respiratory diseases: 3,702,000 7%
6. Unintentional injuries: 3,551,000 6%
7. Perinatal conditions: 2,462,000 4%
8. Digestive diseases: 1,968,000 4%
9. Intentional injuries: 1,618,000 3%
10. Neuropsychiatric disorders: 1,112,000 2%
11. Diabetes mellitus: 988,000 2%
12. Diseases of the genitourinary system: 848,000 2%
13. Maternal conditions: 510,000 1%
14. Congenital abnormalities: 493,000 1%
15. Nutritional deficiencies: 485,000 1%
16. Nutritional/endocrine disorders: 485,000 1%

Source: The World Health Report (http://www.who.int/whr/en/) - 2004 Annex Table 2 Deaths - World Health Organization

See also

• Infectious disease

External links

• Odds of death by various injuries or accidents (http://www.nsc.org/lrs/statinfo/odds.htm) from National Safety Council