As you recall, our resident AZPHA epidemiologist Allan Williams PhD did a deep dive into the leading causes of death in Arizona during the pandemic and discovered we were the only state where COVID-19 was the leading cause of death during the first couple years of the pandemic.

AzPHA Data Brief: Arizona is the ONLY State in the U.S. In Which COVID-19 Is the Leading Cause of Death During the Pandemic

We asked Allan to run the cause-of-death numbers again for 2024 for the period January-Sept. While COVID-19 was still the 4th leading cause of death in Arizona during 2022, it dropped out of the top 15 this year.  

Meanwhile, we continued to have far more heat related deaths than we had just a few years ago – had another dramatic jump in heat-related deaths in 2023 – moving that cause of death up to number 12 (742 deaths in 2024).

An even deeper dive into the heat-related death data found that heat related deaths have increased 350% in the last 5 years (tracking the affordable housing crisis & housing waiting lists for folks with a serious mental illness resulting in homelessness).

The rest of the chart looks pretty stable over the last few years, with heart disease and cancer continuing their dominance as the leading causes of death as it is in the rest of the country.

Main strategies to prevent heart disease and cancer are to stop smoking if you smoke. Make sure to go to your annual checkup where you can learn about things like high blood pressure or early signs of diabetes & take actions to prevent bad a bad outcome.

While you won’t find firearms as a primary cause of death in our charts – they remain a primary mechanism for suicide and homicide deaths and some of the accidents. Over 60% of the suicide deaths included the use of a firearm.

Accidents were the 3rd leading cause of deaths – with accidental poisonings from fentanyl a large component of that category along with car collisions.

Here’s a thumbnail of the leading causes of death in Arizona and some basic individual prevention tips:

1. Heart Disease (11,064)

  • Don’t smoke
  • Exercise regularly
  • Manage blood pressure
  • Manage cholesterol levels
  • Lower salt/alcohol use
  • Better nutrition

2. Cancer (10,021)

  • Don’t smoke
  • Eat well balanced diet
  • Physical activity
  • Get routine screenings
  • Use sunscreen/protect skin
  • Get regular checkups

3. Accidents (4,258)

  • Buckle up
  • Drive a safe car with airbags
  • Don’t drive under the influence
  • Avoid recreational use of pills (fentanyl)
  • In home fall prevention strategies
  • Physical activity/balance

4. Chronic Lower Respiratory Illnesses (2,754)

  • Don’t smoke
  • Worker safety protection
  • Keep up to date with vaccines
  • Exercise

5. Stroke (2,425)

  • Don’t smoke
  • Manage blood pressure
  • Lower alcohol use
  • Better nutrition
  • Seek treatment medication for AFIB (atrial fibrillation)
  • Regular checkups

6. Alzheimer’s (1,950)


7. Diabetes (1,806)

  • Manage the disease
  • Physical activity/nutrition
  • Don’t smoke
  • Manage blood pressure/cholesterol
  • Modest alcohol use

8. Liver Disease (1,154)

  • Getting vaccinated for Hepatitis A and B
  • Practicing good hygiene
  • Drinking alcohol in moderation
  • Use medications as directed
  • Get routine checkups with blood tests
  • Practice harm reduction if you’ve had Hep C

9. Suicide (1,082  >60% from firearms)

  • Depression screening
  • Seek behavioral health help
  • Improve social connectedness
  • Identify persons at risk
  • Evidence based responses
  • Enhance life skills and resilience

10. Hypertension (800)

  • Get regular checkups & take medicine as directed
  • Don’t smoke
  • Lower salt intake
  • Improve physical activity & nutrition
  • Limit alcohol

11.  Parkinsons (745)

12.   Influenza/Pneumonia (725)

  • Stay up to date on all vaccines including influenza, COVID-19, RSV, pneumonia etc.
  • Get routine checkups

13. Heat (742)

  • Strategies to reduce homelessness
  • Increase affordable housing
  • Limit outdoor exposure to extreme heat
  • Stay hydrated

14. Nutritional Deficiency (seniors – usually protein deficiency) 616

  • Eat healthy diet with enough protein
  • Manage diet as you age
  • Sufficient nutrition

15.  Kidney Disease (607)

  • Stay active
  • Manage diabetes
  • Take medication as directed
  • Eat a healthy diet
  • Reduce salt intake
  • Don’t smoke
  • Check and control your blood sugar and blood pressure as part of your regular checkups
  • Get your kidney function checked if you have one or more of the ‘high risk’ factors: diabetes, hypertension, obesity, a family history.

Preventing Child Fatalities in Arizona: The Case for Firearm Safety Reform – AZ Public Health Association

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