The rates of people in the United States dying from heart disease, cancer, stroke, unintentional injuries and diabetes combined decreased between 1969 and 2013, according to an analysis of the age-standardized death rates for these causes, published in JAMA. However, the rate of progress against heart disease, stroke and diabetes appears to have slowed in recent years, a trend researchers attributed to the lagged consequences of obesity-related diseases, which began to spike in the 1980s. The death rate for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease increased during this time period. Study