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  4. COPD Trends Brief
  5. Mortality

COPD Trends Brief: Mortality

View trends and disparities in COPD mortality (deaths) rates and counts, including by age, gender, and race/ethnicity.

Leading Causes

  • In 2021, 138,825 people died from COPD, making it the sixth overall leading cause of death and the fifth disease-related cause of death, behind heart disease, cancer, COVID-19, accidents, and stroke.

Gender

Differences
  • More women than men die from COPD (72,727 versus 66,098), but men are more likely than women to die from the disease (36.8 versus 31.5 per 100,000).

Trends in COPD Mortality by Sex and Race/Ethnicity
Total Total Population Male Female White Black Other Hispanic
Year Number Rate Number Rate Number Rate Number Rate Number Rate Number Rate Number Rate
1999 119,524 43.7 60,795 57.4 58,729 35.7 108,609 47.0 6,706 29.9 1,329 19.8 2,539 21.6
2000 117,522 42.6 58,372 54.5 59,150 35.6 107,065 45.9 6,383 28.0 1,351 19.2 2,397 19.5
2001 118,744 42.3 58,218 53.1 60,526 35.9 108,036 45.9 6,412 27.7 1,415 18.7 2,558 19.5
2002 120,555 42.4 59,133 53.1 61,422 36.0 109,408 46.0 6,647 28.4 1,419 17.6 2,771 20.1
2003 122,283 42.3 59,221 51.9 63,062 36.5 110,952 46.1 6,613 27.6 1,545 18.2 2,875 19.9
2004 118,171 40.3 57,260 49.2 60,911 34.9 107,293 44.2 6,330 25.9 1,503 16.9 2,826 18.5
2005 127,049 42.6 61,120 51.2 65,929 37.2 114,862 46.7 7,134 28.5 1,631 17.2 3,209 19.9
2006 120,970 39.8 57,964 47.5 63,006 35.1 109,313 43.8 6,714 26.2 1,665 16.6 3,053 18.0
2007 124,477 40.2 59,961 47.9 64,516 35.3 112,329 44.4 6,937 26.5 1,744 16.4 3,292 18.4
2008 137,693 43.6 65,936 51.5 71,757 38.6 124,076 48.2 7,787 29.0 1,917 17.1 3,678 19.5
2009 133,965 41.6 63,899 48.6 70,066 37.1 120,593 46.2 7,539 27.1 1,887 16.1 3,724 18.8
2010 134,676 41.1 64,140 47.9 70,536 36.8 120,805 45.8 7,752 27.2 1,982 16.2 3,880 18.6
2011 139,598 41.5 66,259 47.8 73,339 37.4 125,012 46.4 8,095 27.5 2,147 16.2 4,111 18.3
2012 139,958 40.5 66,316 46.3 73,642 36.7 124,957 45.4 8,316 27.2 2,153 15.0 4,200 17.7
2013 145,575 41.1 68,907 46.6 76,668 37.4 129,567 46.2 8,825 27.6 2,354 15.5 4,500 17.8
2014 143,450 39.4 68,064 44.5 75,386 35.9 127,356 44.6 8,771 26.4 2,394 14.6 4,494 16.7
2015 151,426 40.6 71,110 45.1 80,316 37.4 134,109 46.1 9,361 27.3 2,538 14.3 4,854 16.9
2016 151,078 39.6 71,689 44.3 79,389 36.3 133,226 45.0 9,887 27.7 2,593 13.9 4,953 16.3
2017 156,637 39.9 73,621 44.1 83,016 37.0 137,744 45.6 10,264 27.9 2,815 14.1 5,277 16.5
2018 156,045 38.7 73,887 42.9 82,158 35.8 136,614 44.3 10,759 28.2 2,798 13.4 5,424 16.2
2019 153,455 37.2 73,887 40.8 81,153 34.6 134,479 42.7 10,501 26.5 2,741 12.5 5,335 15.3
2020 148,512 35.3 72,302 39.2 77,252 32.3 128,774 40.4 11,108 27.3 2,781 11.9 5,503 15.0
2021 138,825 33.7 66,098 36.8 72,727 31.5 120,125 39.2 10,198 25.4 2,511 11.1 5,113 14.0

Source:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. CDC Wonder On-line Database, compiled from Underlying Cause of Death 1999-2021, 2023.

  1. Age-adjusted rates are per 100,000 population and should be used for comparisons as they account for important underlying differences between populations.
  2. Deaths are coded by the 10th revision of International Classification of Diseases, codes J40-J44, J47.
Trends
  • The COPD death rate among men decreased 36% from 57.4 per 100,000 population in 1999 to 36.8 in 2021.
  • The COPD death rate among women was relatively flat from 1999 through 2017 but has since decreased by 15% to 31.5 in 2021.
Race / Ethnicity
  • COPD death rates are highest among white individuals, lowest among Asian or Pacific Islander individuals, and higher among men than women for every racial and ethnic group.

Age

  • Both the number and rate of deaths from COPD are much greater among older age groups.
  • Most (85%) COPD deaths occur among those age 65 years or older.
  • Fortunately, death rates have been decreasing among those in this age group.
  • Among those age 55 and older, death rates are decreasing for every ten-year age group, except for those age 85 and older, for whom the rate increased from 1999 to 2017 before decreasing the next four years.

Trends in COPD Mortality by Age
  <25 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65-74 75-84 85+
Year Number Rate Number Rate Number Rate Number Rate Number Rate Number Rate Number Rate Number Rate
1999 98 0.1 68 0.2 443 1.0 2,503 6.8 10,714 45.1 31,871 173.0 47,710 390.3 26,113 628.6
2000 80 0.1 47 0.1 472 1.0 2,637 7.0 10,199 42.0 30,423 165.4 46,873 379.2 26,789 631.9
2001 79 0.1 57 0.1 514 1.1 2,721 6.9 10,613 42.3 30,117 163.8 46,960 372.9 27,682 641.9
2002 93 0.1 66 0.2 536 1.2 2,867 7.2 10,744 40.2 29,205 158.8 48,429 379.4 28,609 654.8
2003 83 0.1 55 0.1 539 1.2 2,905 7.1 11,515 41.1 29,387 158.8 48,534 376.3 29,263 655.2
2004 82 0.1 58 0.1 511 1.2 2,949 7.1 11,234 38.3 27,886 149.4 46,895 361.0 28,555 628.2
2005 72 0.1 51 0.1 521 1.2 3,382 8.0 12,227 39.9 29,435 155.9 49,624 379.5 31,733 676.1
2006 73 0.1 61 0.2 468 1.1 3,358 7.8 11,883 37.2 27,793 144.7 46,780 357.2 30,550 627.8
2007 82 0.1 62 0.2 476 1.1 3,615 8.2 12,316 37.2 28,252 143.4 47,472 362.7 32,198 638.9
2008 72 0.1 70 0.2 504 1.2 3,895 8.8 13,572 39.7 31,537 153.8 51,153 391.2 36,889 710.0
2009 82 0.1 68 0.2 448 1.1 4,113 9.2 13,690 38.7 30,915 145.6 48,501 372.4 36,146 673.4
2010 82 0.1 62 0.2 406 1.0 3,881 8.6 13,729 37.6 31,403 144.6 47,811 366.1 37,298 679.0
2011 76 0.1 62 0.1 439 1.1 4,130 9.2 14,510 38.1 32,069 142.6 48,900 371.2 39,409 686.9
2012 52 0.0 47 0.1 429 1.1 3,970 9.0 14,622 37.9 33,147 138.2 47,870 360.7 39,818 676.3
2013 75 0.1 63 0.1 410 1.0 4,086 9.3 15,342 39.0 35,162 139.4 48,890 363.6 41,546 687.8
2014 67 0.1 84 0.2 397 1.0 3,825 8.8 15,906 39.7 35,182 133.3 47,317 345.8 40,668 660.0
2015 62 0.1 55 0.1 362 0.9 3,849 8.9 16,834 41.2 37,174 134.9 49,402 354.8 43,684 694.8
2016 70 0.1 67 0.2 369 0.9 3,787 8.9 17,215 41.5 37,956 132.6 48,978 344.1 42,632 668.2
2017 43 0.0 63 0.1 389 1.0 3,522 8.3 18,021 42.9 39,179 132.0 50,686 344.6 44,726 691.4
2018 54 0.1 62 0.1 341 0.8 3,349 8.0 18,197 43.0 38,701 126.9 51,253 332.9 44,084 673.6
2019 61 0.1 49 0.1 296 0.7 3,127 7.7 18,135 42.7 38,735 123.0 50,340 315.2 42,707 646.6
2020 32 0.0 52 0.1 383 0.9 2,968 7.4 18,071 42.6 37,952 116.6 48,822 296.8 40,228 604.2
2021 43 0.0 67 0.1 359 0.8 2,721 6.7 16,994 39.7 37,353 111.0 45,847 282.9 35,439 593.0

Source:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. CDC Wonder On-line Database, compiled from Underlying Cause of Death 1999-2021, 2023.

  1. Death rates are per 100,000 population.
  2. Deaths are coded by the 10th revision of International Classification of Diseases, codes J45-J46.
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