Leading causes of death in England and Wales (revised 2016)

Last updated:
12 October 2017

The leading underlying causes of death are based on a list developed by the World Health Organization (WHO). This categorises causes using the International Classification of Diseases version 10 (ICD-10), specially designed for determining the leading causes of death. The original list is available. This was modified in 2016 for use on 2015 mortality data. Minor changes were made in 2017 to ensure mutual exclusivity between groupings. This involved the removal of meningitis and meningococcal diseases (A39), sepsis due to haemophilus influenzae (A41.3), rabies (A82), certain mosquito-borne diseases (A83) and yellow fever (A95) from the vaccine preventable diseases grouping. Our explorable datasets available within NOMIS use the revised list.

Table 1: Leading causes of death in England and Wales (revised 2016)

ICD-10 codesCause of death groups
A00–A09Intestinal infectious diseases
A15–A19, B90Tuberculosis
A20, A44, A75–A79, A82–A84, A85.2, A90–A98, B50–B57Vector–borne diseases and rabies
A33–A37, A49.2, A80, B01, B02, B05, B06, B15, B16, B17.0, B18.0, B18.1, B26, B91, G14Vaccine-preventable diseases1
A39, A87, G00–G03Meningitis and meningococcal infection
A40–A41Septicaemia
B20–B24Human immunodeficiency virus [HIV] disease
C00–C97Malignant neoplasms
C15Malignant neoplasm of oesophagus
C16Malignant neoplasm of stomach
C18–C21Malignant neoplasm of colon, sigmoid, rectum and anus
C22Malignant neoplasm of liver and intrahepatic bile ducts
C23-C24Malignant neoplasm of gallbladder and other parts of biliary tract
C25Malignant neoplasm of pancreas
C32Malignant neoplasm of larynx
C33-C34Malignant neoplasm of trachea, bronchus and lung
C40–C41Malignant neoplasms of bone and articular cartilage
C43-C44Melanoma and other malignant neoplasms of skin
C50Malignant neoplasm of breast
C53–C55Malignant neoplasm of uterus
C56Malignant neoplasm of ovary
C61Malignant neoplasm of prostate
C64Malignant neoplasm of kidney, except renal pelvis
C67Malignant neoplasm of bladder
C71Malignant neoplasm of brain
C81–C96Malignant neoplasms, stated or presumed to be primary of lymphoid, haematopoietic and related tissue
D00–D48In situ and benign neoplasms, and neoplasms of uncertain or unknown behaviour
E10–E14Diabetes
D50–D53, E40–E64Malnutrition, nutritional anaemias and other nutritional deficiencies
E86–E87Disorders of fluid, electrolyte and acid–base balance (incl. dehydration)
F01, F03, G30Dementia and Alzheimer disease
F10–F19Mental and behavioural disorders due to psychoactive substance use
G10–G12Systemic atrophies primarily affecting the central nervous system
G20Parkinson disease
G40-G41Epilepsy and status epilepticus
G80–G83Cerebral palsy and other paralytic syndromes
I05–I09Chronic rheumatic heart diseases
I10–I15Hypertensive diseases
I20–I25Ischaemic heart diseases
I26–I28Pulmonary heart disease and diseases of pulmonary circulation
I34–I38Nonrheumatic valve disorders and endocarditis
I42Cardiomyopathy
I46Cardiac arrest
I47–I49Cardiac arrhythmias
I50–I51Heart failure and complications and ill–defined heart disease
I60–I69Cerebrovascular diseases
I70Atherosclerosis
I71Aortic aneurysm and dissection
J00–J06, J20–J22Acute respiratory infections other than influenza and pneumonia
J09–J18Influenza and pneumonia
J40–J47Chronic lower respiratory diseases
J80–J84Pulmonary oedema and other interstitial pulmonary diseases
J96Respiratory failure
K35–K46, K56Appendicitis, hernia and intestinal obstruction
K70–K76Cirrhosis and other diseases of liver
M00–M99Diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue
N00–N39Diseases of the urinary system
O00–O99Pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium
P00–P96Certain conditions originating in the perinatal period
Q00–Q99Congenital malformations, deformations and chromosomal abnormalities
V01–X59Accidents
V01–V89Land transport accidents
W00–W19Accidental falls
W32–W34Non-intentional firearm discharge
W65–W74Accidental drowning and submersion
W75–W84Accidental threats to breathing
X40–X49Accidental poisoning
X60–X84, Y10–Y34 Suicide and injury/poisoning of undetermined intent2
U50.9, X85–Y09, Y87.1Homicide and probable homicide
R00-R99Symptoms, signs and ill-defined conditions
Source: Office for National Statistics
Notes:
1. Excluding meningitis and meningococcal diseases (A39), sepsis due to haemophilus influenzae (A41.3), rabies (A82), certain mosquito-borne diseases (A83) and yellow fever (A95).
2. In England and Wales, a conclusion of suicide cannot be returned for children under the age of 10 years.

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