3 ms·

That's an interesting visualization. I have to assume that our increased longevity and relatively fewer deaths due to infectious diseases is the reason more peo

• Dove 14y ago
  That was my thought as well. Notice that Alzheimer's also makes the list. Of particular interest is that suicide is on the new list, and wasn't on the old one. That says something about society, but I'm not exactly sure what.
  • milesskorpen 14y ago
    Suicide isn't exactly something new -- Romeo and Juliet stand out as good examples. And it had to be common enough that the Catholic Church felt the need to oppose it. Or think about Great Depression stock traders jumping from windows. I imagine most suicides were categorized as accidents, back in 1900.
  • maxerickson 14y ago
    They are top ten lists and three infectious diseases are eliminated from the newer list. So it is tough to draw any conclusions about suicide. This document suggests the rate has fallen slightly since 1950: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/hus/contents2011.htm#039 http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/hus/contents2011.htm#039 (I wondered what the trend was and looked it up, I'm not involved in public health or anything)
  • planetguy 14y ago
    Note that Alzheimer's wasn't even "invented" as a diagnosis in 1900, though. I'm guessing that most of the folks dying of Alzheimer's in 1900 wound up getting classified into the "senility" box.