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In photos: The 150th running of the Kentucky Derby

University of Michigan graduation disrupted by protesters

Protesters clash with law enforcement at U-Va.

How Pope Francis opened the Vatican to transgender sex workers

Israeli cabinet votes to shut Al Jazeera’s Israel operations; cease-fire talks ongoing

Residents accuse Israeli forces of executions during West Bank raid

The New York Times, alone in its outrage over access to Biden

The ‘Access Hollywood’ video cemented Trump’s air of invincibility

Stephen A. Smith would like even more of your attention

The Post endorses April McClain Delaney and Tom Royals for Maryland’s 6th District

On Press Freedom Day, little to celebrate for Hong Kong’s journalists

Young Georgians want to be part of Europe. Their government is in the way.

Strangers help Sesame Street puppeteer after heirloom necklace was stolen

Teen grabs wheel when driver passes out and school bus veers into traffic

Cat climbed into Amazon return box, found alive 630 miles away

The new cure-all for vacation excess: the IV drip 

What’s the best bus to New York? We tested 5 for comfort and value.

You asked: Do I need a passport for my cruise?

A frank look at hot dog prices at MLB ballparks

Sloppy first inning dooms the Nationals in a 6-3 loss to the Blue Jays

In a pinch, the Nationals finally find some offense

After years of delay, Boeing to try again with Starliner space capsule

Divided Trump campaign weighs joining TikTok, the app he tried to ban

Google’s empire is massive. A judge will soon rule if it’s a monopoly.

Trump escalates attacks on prosecutors, says Democrats run ‘a Gestapo administration’

Top RNC lawyer resigns after rift grows with Trump

Carolyn Hax: Working for a celebrity has this employee feeling ‘small’

Ask Amy: I live with my boyfriend – and his sister and her family

Miss Manners: Is it inappropriate to reach out to old girlfriends?

The latest news about preventable deaths in the United States has some encouraging data and one sobering statistic. On the good-news front, fewer people are dying prematurely from three of the five leading causes of death between 2010 and 2014: cancer, stroke and heart disease.

But there was a significant increase in preventable deaths from unintentional injuries, mostly because deaths from <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/the-dea-slowed-enforcement-while-the-opioid-epidemic-grew-out-of-control/2016/10/22/aea2bf8e-7f71-11e6-8d13-d7c704ef9fd9_story.html">opioid overdoses</a> are increasing.

In a <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/65/wr/mm6545a1.htm?s_cid=mm6545a1_e">report published Thursday</a>, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analyzed data for the five leading causes of death in 2014 in the United States, which together account for 63 percent of all deaths. In each of the five categories, a substantial proportion of those deaths could have been avoided. The study assessed how the rates of these potentially preventable diseases changed from 2010 to 2014, the latest year for which numbers are available.

For all five causes, states <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2014/05/01/the-southeast-is-home-to-the-most-preventable-deaths/">in the Southeast</a> continued to have the highest number of premature deaths that could have been avoided.

Researchers found that the estimated number of potentially preventable deaths fell in three categories:

• Cancer dropped 25 percent, driven by a 12 percent decrease in the age-adjusted death rate from <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2016/11/10/even-with-far-lower-smoking-rates-tobacco-use-is-linked-to-almost-40-percent-of-cancer-cases/">lung cancer</a>.

The map below shows the change in potentially preventable cancer deaths for people younger than 80.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Researchers attribute the decrease in cancer deaths, in part, to progress in prevention, early detection and treatment, and progress against cigarette smoking. Better quality of care and more people getting their high blood pressure under control were among the factors contributing to the decline in death rates for heart disease and stroke.

Researchers found virtually no change in the number of potentially preventable deaths for chronic lower respiratory disease, such as emphysema, bronchitis and asthma. Those deaths increased 1 percent in 2014 compared with 2010.

But there was a big jump — 23 percent — in deaths from unintentional injuries. The report said this increase is mostly attributed to overdoses from prescription and illicit drugs, as well as falls.

“Fewer Americans are dying young from preventable causes of death,” said CDC Director Tom Frieden. “Tragically, deaths from overdose are increasing because of the opioid epidemic, and there are still large differences between states in all preventable causes of death, indicating that many more lives can be saved through use of prevention and treatment available today.”

Appalachia, the upper Midwest and the Northeast have been hit especially hard by the opioid epidemic. Many of those states have suffered a large number of overdose deaths.

<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/parents-are-insisting-on-doctors-who-insist-on-vaccinations/2016/11/12/81c1a684-a202-11e6-8d63-3e0a660f1f04_story.html">Parents are insisting on doctors who insist on vaccinations</a>

<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2016/10/20/std-rates-hit-record-high-in-u-s-as-screening-clinics-close/">STI rates hit record high as screening clinics close</a>

<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2016/10/13/more-than-half-a-million-heart-surgery-patients-at-risk-of-a-dangerous-infection/">More than half a million open-heart surgery patients at risk of deadly infection</a>

Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting for coverage of the war on terrorism, part of national reporting team, 2002

 Robert F. Kennedy journalism award, international print, 1994 

Cornell University, BS in communication

Columbia University, MA in journalism

Lena H. Sun is a national reporter for The Washington Post covering health with a special focus on public health and infectious disease. A longtime reporter at The Post, she has covered the Metro transit system, immigration, education and was a Beijing bureau chief. 

Lena H. Sun

The Washington Post

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The Washington Post health section provides coverage and analysis of health, healthcare, nutrition and fitness news.