COPD Trends Brief - Mortality | American Lung Association

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

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.

Age-adjusted rates are per 100,000 population and should be used for comparisons as they account for important underlying differences between populations.
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.

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

COPD death rates are increasing among those age 85+, but decreasing among other age groups over 55 years

Sources

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. HCUPnet, Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project, 2000-2020.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey, 2021. Analysis by the American Lung Association Epidemiology and Statistics Unit using SPSS software.

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.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Center for Health Statistics. National Health Interview Survey, 1999-2022. Analysis by the American Lung Association Research and Program Services Division using SPSS software.

Shah CH, Reed RM, Wastila L, Onukwugha E, Gopalakrishnan M, Zafari Z. Direct Medical Costs of COPD in the USA: An Analysis of the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey 2017–2018. Applied Health Economics and Health Policy. 2023; DOI: 10.1007/s40258-023-00814-8.

Tilert T, Dillon C, Paulose-Ram R, et al. Estimating the U.S. Prevalence of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Using Pre- and Post-Bronchodilator Spirometry: The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2007–2010. Respiratory Research. 2013; 14(1):103.

United States Census Bureau. Population Estimates, 2009.

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