I came across an article yesterday in the Dallas examiner.com that tabulated the risk of dying to various causes. The source of the data is not clear, and I can only assume that they refer to Americans, but I believe that these numbers relfect the lifetime risk of dying:
1 in 5, Heart disease
1 in 7, Cancer
1 in 24, Stroke
1 in 84, Motor vehicle accident
1 in 119, Suicide
1 in 218, Falling
1 in 314, Firearm assault
1 in 526, Pedestrian accident
1 in 1,008, Drowning
1 in 1,020, Motorcycle accident
1 in 1,113, Fire or smoke
1 in 4,919, Bicycling accident
1 in 5,051, Air/space accident
1 in 5,134, Accidental firearm discharge
1 in 9,968, Accidental electrocution
1 in 10,048, Alcohol poisoning
1 in 13,729, Hot weather
1 in 56,789, Hornet, wasp, or bee sting
1 in 62,468, Legal execution
1 in 79,746, Lightning
1 in 117,127, Earthquake
1 in 144,156, Flood
1 in 340,733, Fireworks discharge
By comparison, the risk of dying in a marathon is approximately 1 in 75,000, or something equivalent to the likelihood of dying from lightning or legal execution.
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