--- title: American Death Rate Increases for First Time in 10 Years description: The American death rate increased for the first time in 10 years in 2015, ticking up from 723.2 deaths per 100,000 people to 729.5 canonical: https://time.com/4353387/american-death-rate-increase/ author: Sarah Begley article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-06-01T13:14:28.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T17:57:44.734Z article:section: Health og:title: American Death Rate Ticks Up for First Time in 10 Years og:description: Alzheimer's, suicide and drug overdoses may have contributed to the rise og:url: https://time.com/4353387/american-death-rate-increase/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt867f78f211712669/698895c10a4a2286399c9e47/death-rate-rising.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Grave site of novelist E. D. E. N. Southworth og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: American Death Rate Ticks Up for First Time in 10 Years twitter:description: Alzheimer's, suicide and drug overdoses may have contributed to the rise twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt867f78f211712669/698895c10a4a2286399c9e47/death-rate-rising.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # American Death Rate Ticks Up for First Time in 10 Years by [Sarah Begley](https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Jun 1, 2016 1:14 PM UTC  Oak Hill Cemetery in Georgetown of Washington, D.C. on January 4, 2016. Oak Hill Cemetery in Georgetown of Washington, D.C. on January 4, 2016.The Washington Post/Getty Images by [Sarah Begley](https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Jun 1, 2016 1:14 PM UTC The [American death rate](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/01/health/american-death-rate-rises-for-first-time-in-a-decade.html) increased for the first time in 10 years in 2015, ticking up from 723.2 deaths per 100,000 people to 729.5. The last time the[ death rate](http://labs.time.com/story/how-race-influences-why-people-die-in-america/?iid=sr-link1) increased was in 2005, amid a brutal flu season. The data from the National Center for Health Statistics surprised experts, the New York _Times_ reports, as it is rare to see a national increase. Preliminary analysis indicates that heightened rates of Alzheimer’s,[ suicide and drug overdoses](http://time.com/4097521/middle-aged-white-americans-death-rate/?iid=sr-link4) could have driven the increase, as well as a relatively flat rate of heart disease (which has declined every year since 1993). Robert Anderson, the chief of mortality statistics at the National Center for Health Statistics, told the _Times_ the numbers were significant, but added, “The question is, what does it mean? We really need more data to know. If we start looking at 2016 and we see another rise, we’ll be a lot more concerned.” \[[_NYT_](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/01/health/american-death-rate-rises-for-first-time-in-a-decade.html)\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4353387/american-death-rate-increase/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4353387/american-death-rate-increase/"},"headline":"American Death Rate Ticks Up for First Time in 10 Years","datePublished":"2016-06-01T13:14:28.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T17:57:44.734Z","description":"Alzheimer's, suicide and drug overdoses may have contributed to the rise","url":"https://time.com/4353387/american-death-rate-increase/","keywords":["Disease"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt867f78f211712669/698895c10a4a2286399c9e47/death-rate-rising.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sarah Begley","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt867f78f211712669/698895c10a4a2286399c9e47/death-rate-rising.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Grave site of novelist E. 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