KENAI — The flu and pneumonia replaced assault and homicide as Alaska’s 10th leading cause of death in 2016, according to a state report.
The state Department of Health and Social Services’ numbers released on Monday show cancer is still the leading cause of death in the state, followed by heart disease and unintentional injury.
Cancer killed 974 people, heart disease killed 814 and unintentional injuries killed 429, according to the report.
The flu and pneumonia killed 60 people in the state last year and nudged homicide and assault off the state’s top-10 list. The number of people killed by homicide or assault was not listed in the report.
Suicide killed 186 people, coming in at sixth on the list. While chronic liver disease and cirrhosis killed 123 people, coming in at seventh.
Diabetes was the eighth leading cause of death, killing 122 people last year. Alzheimer’s disease was ninth, killing 109 people.
Aside from the top-10 list, the statistics also showed that alcohol-induced deaths, not including alcohol-influenced car crashes, claimed the lives of 182 people, while firearm-related incidents claimed the lives of 174 people. Drug-induced deaths claimed the lives of 131 people. These statistics aren’t a part of the list because they overlap different types of death.
