How we die in the state, age by age

Why do people die in Connecticut? It’s not a subject everyone likes to think about, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention maintains a database of causes of death in every state going back decades.

Looking at the data, there are some obvious changes over time. Deaths from HIV, for example, somewhat common in 1999, have all but dropped off the list in 2017.

Here are the most common causes of death in Connecticut in 2017 (the most recent year with available data), by age group, according to the CDC.

Less than 1 year old

Perhaps not surprisingly, the most common cause of death for newborns is “short gestation,” with congenital anomalies coming in at No. 2.

Complications with pregnancy is a common cause of death, both maternal and complications with umbilical cords. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome is listed as the fourth most common cause of death.

1 to 4 years old

Homicide in this age group was the No. 5 cause of death in the state in 1999 — it’s moved up to the thirdmost common cause of death since then, behind congenital anomalies and unintentional injury.

Cancers, listed as malignant neoplasms by the CDC are the No. 4 cause of death. Not much has changed in the last two decades, though heart disease, absent from the 2017 list, was listed as the fourth most common cause of death in 1999.

5 to 9 years old

There’s not too much difference between this age group and the younger demographics. Unintentional injuries are somewhat less common.

Back in 1999, death from respiratory disease was listed for this demographic — it’s absent from the 2017 list.

10 to 14 years old.

This is the first age demographic for which suicide is listed as one of the most common causes of death in 2017, though that was not the case in 1999. Suicide among 10 to 14yearsolds is the second most common cause of death in Connecticut, behind cancer.

Vascular issues and unintentional injuries are also common causes of death in this demographic.

15 to 24 years old

The three most common causes of death for this age group are, in order, unintentional injury, suicide and homicide. The same was true in 1999, though the order was different (there were more homicides than suicides.

After homicide, cancer is the most common cause of death for this demographic, ahead of cerebrovascular issues and heart disease.

25 to 34 years old

This age group faces the same three leading causes of death as the younger demographic, in the same order. Heart disease, though begins to be more prevalent in this age group, as the fourth most common cause of death.

This is the only group for which HIV is a common cause of death in 2017, and the first for which diabetes begins to be a concern — it’s the eighth most common cause of death.

35 to 44 years old

Unintentional injuries are still the leading cause of death for 35 to 44yearolds, though cancer and heart disease are both more common than either suicide or homicide.

This is the first group for which liver disease reaches the top five most common causes of death.

45 to 54 years old

As with 5 to 14yearolds, cancers are the most common cause of death for this age group, followed by unintentional injury, heart disease, suicide and liver disease.

Influenza is the 10th most common cause of death for this age group.

55 to 64 years old

The five most common causes of death for this age group are all healthrelated (cancer, heart disease, liver disease and respiratory disease) with the exception of unintentional injuries, which is the third most common cause of death.

This is the last age group for which suicide is in the 10 most common causes of death — it’s No. 8.

65 years old and older

Perhaps understandably, the five most common causes of death for Connecticut residents aged 65 and older are healthrelated: Heart disease, cancer, respiratory disease, cerebrovascular illness and Alzheimer’s disease.

Suicide and homicide do not appear in the 10 most common causes of death in this age group.

Possibly because more people die in this age group than in other, younger demographics, the list of the 10 most common causes of death for all ages is largely similar to that of older adults.