The "cause of death" in KIC tables refers to an underlying cause of death. The underlying cause is defined as the disease or injury which initiated the chain of events leading directly to death, or the circumstances of the accident or violence which produced the fatal injury. The causes of death presented here are classified in accordance with the International Classification of Diseases (ICD). ICD classification is the result of close collaboration among many nations and non-governmental organizations, under the auspices of the World Health Organization. Periodically, it's updated to reflect changes in medical knowledge. ICD9 was in use through 1998. Beginning January 1, 1999, the Center for Health and Environmental Statistics (CHES) began classifying deaths using ICD10.

In addition to causes of death being grouped differently, ICD10 coding rules are different. Thus some counts might change because the underlying cause is assigned differently. Categories in which substantial changes occurred include: Alzheimer's disease, pneumonia and influenza, diabetes, and kidney diseases. To obtain the CHES report on changes in mortality coding and its impact, click here.

The "leading causes" of death are also based on international standards. The ranking of causes is in large part determined by the way causes are grouped. The groupings used in the cause of death profiles on this site are based on those used by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), which in turn are based on international tabulation lists. For example, cancer is usually the second leading cause of death in Kansas and the United States.  However, if we considered kinds or sites of cancer separately - e.g., leukemia, lymphoma, lung cancer - then they would have lower rankings. On the other hand, if all communicable and infectious diseases, or all injuries were combined, they would each have a higher ranking than they have when considered separately.

KIC uses modified versions of the NCHS 39 Selected Causes of Mortality (30 categories in tier one) and 113 Selected Causes of Mortality (114 categories in tier two) lists. In the tier one list, the cancer categories are collapsed to a single category and an "other" disease component for some categories has been created. HIV/AIDS mortality information is not available through KIC. Contact CHES for HIV/AIDS mortality data.

If you notice a sudden change in a certain cause between 1998 and 1999, follow up further to see whether the change is likely to be explained by the ICD-9/ICD-10 transition rather than by a real change in the pattern of causes of death.

Tier One Cause of Death Categories (30)
Tuberculosis
Septicemis
Syphilis
Other infections and parasites
Cancer
Diabetes
Alzheimer's disease
Heart disease
Essential hypertension
Cerebrovascular disease (Stroke)
Atherosclerosis
Other circulatory diseases/disorders
Pneumonia and influenza
Chronic lower respiratory diseases
Pneumonitis due to solids and liquids
Other respiratory diseases
Peptic ulcer
Chronic liver disease & cirrhosis
Kidney disease (nephritis/nephrotic syndrome/nephrosis)
Other digestive diseases
Pregnancy complications
Birth Defects
Conditions of perinatal period (early infancy)
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)
Motor vehicle accidents
All other accidents & adverse effects
Suicide
Homicide
Other external causes
Other causes

Tier Two Cause of Death Categories (114) (see footnote at bottom)
Salmonella infections
Shigellosis and amebiasis
Certain other intestinal infections
Respiratory tuberculosis
Non-Respiratory tuberculosis
Whooping cough
Scarlet fever and erysipelas
Meningococcal infection
Septicemia
Syphilis
Acute polio
Arthropod-borne viral enceph
Measles
Viral hepatitis
Malaria
Oth/unspec infectious/parasitic
Malignant neoplasm of lip, mouth and pharynx
Malignant neoplasm of esophagus
Malignant neoplasm of stomach
Malignant neoplasm of colon, rectum and anus
Malignant neoplasm of liver + intrahepatic bile ducts
Malignant neoplasm of pancreas
Malignant neoplasm of larynx
Malignant neoplasm of trachea, bronchus and lung
Malignant melanoma of skin
Malignant neoplasm of breast
Malignant neoplasm of cervix uteri
Malignant neoplasm of uterus
Malignant neoplasm of ovary
Malignant neoplasm of prostate
Malignant neoplasm of kidney and renal pelvis
Malignant neoplasm of bladder
Malignant neoplasm of meninges, brain and other CNS
Hodgkins disease
Non-Hodgkins lymphoma
Leukemia
Multiple myeloma and immunoproliferative neoplasms
Other and unspec malig neo of lymphoid hematopoietic & related tissue
Other and unspecified malignant neoplasms
Benign/in situ/uncertain/unknown neoplasms
Anemias
Diabetes
Malnutrition
Other nutritional deficiencies
Meningitis
Parkinsons disease
Alzheimers Disease
Rheumatic heart diseases: acute and chronic
Hypertensive heart disease
Hypertensive heart and renal disease
Acute myocardial infarction
Other acute ischemic heart diseases
Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (so described)
All other forms of chronic ischemic heart disease
Acute and subacute endocarditis
Diseases of pericardium and acute myocarditis
Heart failure
All other forms of heart disease
Essential (primary) hypertension/hypertensive renal disease
Cerebrovasc (Stroke)
Atherosclerosis
Aortic aneurysm and dissection
Other diseases of arteries/arterioles/capillaries
Other disorders of circulatory system
Influenza
Pneumonia
Acute bronchitis and brochiolitis
Unspecified acute lower resp infection
Bronchitis: chronic and unspecified
Emphysema
Asthma
Other chronic lower resp diseases
Pneumoconioses and chemical effects
Pneumonitis due to solids and liquids
Other diseases of respiratory system
Peptic ulcer
Diseases of appendix
Hernia
Alcoholic liver disease
Other chronic liver disease and cirrhosis
Cholelithiasis/gallbladder
Acute nephrotic syndrome
Nephritis not acute/chronic
Renal failure
Other disorders of kidney
Infections of kidney
Hyperplasia of prostate
Female PID
Pregnancy/abortive outcome
Other maternal deaths
Perinatal conditions
Congenital/chromosomal anomalies
Symptoms and signs
All other diseases
Motor vehicle crashes
Other land transport accidents
Water, air, space, oth/unspec tranport accidents
Falls
Accidental discharge of firearms
Accidental drowning and submersion
Accidental exposure to smoke fire and/or flames
Other/unspec nontransport accidents
Intentional self-harm (suicide) by discharge of firearms
Intentional self-harm (suicide) by other/unspecified means
Assault (homicide) by discharge of firearms
Assault (homicide) by other/unspecified means
Legal intervention
Discharge of firearms of undetermined intent
Oth/unspec events of undetermined intent
War/sequelae
Complics of med and surgical care
SIDS
Other digestive diseases

Tier Two footnote. Differences from the NCHS 113 List: AIDS/HIV is not available in KIC, SIDS and other digestive diseases are retained because they are listed in the Tier One table.