Shark attacks, raging fires and deadly bacteria all sound scary. But how do you know which calamities to worry about and which to ignore?
Everyone moves through life with different risks. Your own need to worry depends on a variety of factors, including age, where you live, how much you travel and your daily activities, noted Dr. James K. Hammitt, professor of economics at the Harvard School of Public Health. Consider this: it’s estimated that 150 people around the world die annually fromfalling coconuts. That’s more than double the estimated 62 annual shark attacks worldwide. But if you’re a person who regularly swims in shark-infested waters and you never stand under a coconut tree, then the average odds obviously don’t apply to you.
Take a look at the following chart, which we’ve put together from a variety of sources. It shows the total number of deaths annually due to various disease-related and accidental causes, as well as an average individual’s lifetime risk for a given health worry. On the scariest day of the year, maybe this will help put it all in perspective.
| Risk | Annual Deaths | Lifetime risk |
| Heart disease | 652,486 | 1 in 5 |
| Cancer | 553,888 | 1 in 7 |
| Stroke | 150,074 | 1 in 24 |
| Hospital infections | 99,000 | 1 in 38 |
| Flu | 59,664 | 1 in 63 |
| Car accidents | 44,757 | 1 in 84 |
| Suicide | 31,484 | 1 in 119 |
| Accidental poisoning | 19,456 | 1 in 193 |
| MRSA (resistant bacteria) | 19,000 | 1 in 197 |
| Falls | 17,229 | 1 in 218 |
| Drowning | 3,306 | 1 in 1,134 |
| Bike accident | 762 | 1 in 4,919 |
| Air/space accident | 742 | 1 in 5,051 |
| Excessive cold | 620 | 1 in 6,045 |
| Sun/heat exposure | 273 | 1 in 13,729 |
| Shark attack* | 62 | 1 in 60,453 |
| Lightning | 47 | 1 in 79, 746 |
| Train crash | 24 | 1 in 156,169 |
| Fireworks | 11 | 1 in 340,733 |
Sources: Unless otherwise noted, all accidental death information fromNational Safety Council. Disease death information from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Lifetime risk is calculated by dividing 2003 population (290,850,005) by the number of deaths, divided by 77.6, the life expectancy of a person born in 2003. *Shark data represents number of attacks worldwide, not deaths.