What are the 10 leading causes of morbidity and mortality?

September 30, 2025 •

3 min read

According to the CDC, chronic diseases are among the most common and costly health problems, and addressing them is key to understanding the landscape of what are the 10 leading causes of morbidity and mortality. Examining these statistics reveals the primary health challenges facing populations, driven by both chronic illness and acute events.

Quick Summary

This article examines the most significant health burdens, including the top causes of death in the United States and the widespread illnesses that lead to disability. It distinguishes between morbidity and mortality, explores the common risk factors, and outlines actionable prevention strategies to mitigate these health risks.

Key Points

Morbidity vs. Mortality: Morbidity refers to illness and disability, measured by prevalence and incidence, while mortality refers to death and is measured by death rates.
Dominance of Chronic Disease: The top causes of both mortality and long-term morbidity are overwhelmingly chronic, noncommunicable diseases like heart disease, cancer, and diabetes.
Top Causes of Death: Recent CDC data for the US shows heart disease, cancer, and unintentional injuries consistently ranking among the highest causes of mortality.
Key Morbidity Drivers: Long-term disability is largely driven by the same chronic diseases, along with significant contributions from mental health and substance use disorders.
Preventable Risk Factors: A majority of these health issues are linked to preventable risk factors, including tobacco use, physical inactivity, poor diet, and excessive alcohol consumption.
Effective Prevention Strategies: Key strategies include adopting healthy lifestyle habits, engaging in regular health screenings, and participating in public health initiatives.

Understanding the Concepts: Morbidity vs. Mortality

In public health, understanding the difference between morbidity and mortality is crucial for assessing a population's health. The terms are often used together but have distinct meanings.

Morbidity is the term for having a disease or the amount of disease within a population, often referring to illness and disability. It is measured by metrics like prevalence (the total number of existing cases) and incidence (the number of new cases). Morbidity reflects the presence of illness and its impact on quality of life over time.
Mortality is the term for death. A mortality rate is the number of deaths due to a specific cause or from all causes within a given population. Mortality statistics are vital for identifying the leading causes of death and tracking public health progress.

The Leading Causes of Mortality

The leading causes of mortality can vary slightly based on the year and specific population demographics, but a consistent list of chronic and acute conditions dominates the statistics in high-income countries like the United States. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides recent snapshots of these trends.

Top causes of death in the US based on recent CDC data include:

Heart disease
Cancer
Accidents (unintentional injuries)
Stroke (cerebrovascular diseases)
Chronic lower respiratory diseases
Alzheimer's disease
Diabetes
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome, and nephrosis (kidney disease)
Chronic liver disease and cirrhosis
COVID-19 (may fluctuate year-to-year)

These conditions are influenced by lifestyle, genetics, and environmental factors. Heart disease, for example, remains the single leading cause of death globally.

The Burden of Morbidity

Chronic diseases are significant contributors to morbidity. Common conditions include cardiovascular diseases, chronic respiratory diseases, mental health disorders, substance use disorders, diabetes, Alzheimer's and other dementias, arthritis and musculoskeletal disorders, and cancer. Injuries are also a major source of non-fatal morbidity, while infectious diseases can also cause significant morbidity.

Leading Causes: A Comparison of Mortality and Morbidity

While the underlying diseases often overlap, their impact on a population differs whether it leads to death or long-term illness.


Aspect	Mortality	Morbidity
Definition	Refers to death and the death rate from a disease.	Refers to illness, disease, and disability.
Primary Metric	Death counts and mortality rates.	Prevalence (total cases) and incidence (new cases).
Data Focus	Counts how many people die from a specific cause over a period.	Measures the total number of people living with a specific condition over a period.
Impact Example	A heart attack can cause immediate death, contributing to mortality statistics.	Heart failure can lead to long-term disability, contributing to morbidity statistics.
Common Causes	Predominantly chronic diseases, such as heart disease and cancer.	Primarily chronic diseases, such as diabetes and arthritis, due to their long duration.
Intervention Focus	Preventing premature death through interventions like emergency care.	Improving quality of life and managing symptoms through long-term care and lifestyle changes.

Addressing the Underlying Risk Factors

Many leading causes of morbidity and mortality are preventable by addressing common risk factors through public health efforts and individual choices. Lifestyle and behavioral risk factors include tobacco use, physical inactivity, poor nutrition, and excessive alcohol use. Environmental and social risk factors encompass air pollution, healthcare access disparities, and social/economic inequities.

Strategies for Prevention and Management

Effective strategies are essential for tackling leading causes of morbidity and mortality, with prevention being key to reducing the burden. Individual prevention includes lifestyle modification, preventive care, vaccinations, and stress management. Population-level initiatives involve health promotion campaigns, policy changes for healthy living environments, and integrated care for co-occurring conditions like mental health and substance use disorders.

Conclusion

Chronic diseases and lifestyle factors pose significant public health challenges in high-income nations, representing the leading causes of both mortality and long-term morbidity. Prevention is crucial, achievable through individual healthy behaviors, routine preventive care, public health investments, and addressing systemic inequities. For more information, refer to {Link: National Institutes of Health https://www.nih.gov/health-information/your-healthiest-self-wellness-toolkits/disease-prevention-toolkit}.

Frequently Asked Questions

Morbidity refers to the rate of illness or disability within a population, while mortality refers to the death rate from a specific disease or all causes. In short, morbidity is about being sick, and mortality is about dying.

According to recent CDC data, heart disease is the number one cause of death in the United States.

For most high-income countries like the US, non-communicable diseases (NCDs) like heart disease and cancer represent the primary burden of illness and death. While communicable diseases are a major concern globally, especially in low-income nations, NCDs are increasing worldwide.

Risk factors like smoking contribute significantly to both morbidity and mortality by increasing the risk of numerous chronic diseases, such as cancer, heart disease, and chronic respiratory diseases. Reducing these behaviors can prevent many premature deaths and long-term illnesses.

Regular health screenings, such as for high blood pressure, cholesterol, and various cancers, can lead to early detection of diseases. Identifying these conditions early often allows for more effective treatment and management, which can prevent premature death.

Mental health disorders like depression and anxiety are considered major contributors to morbidity because they significantly impact a person's quality of life, daily functioning, and overall well-being, even if they don't directly cause death.

Adopting healthy lifestyle changes such as eating a nutritious diet, engaging in regular physical activity, quitting tobacco, and limiting alcohol consumption can help prevent or delay many chronic diseases and significantly lower the risk of premature death.