A new study led by researchers from the University of Colorado Boulder shows that young Americans in the US are more likely to die before they reach 25 years old than those in other wealthy nations.
Researchers reported that people of color are at even higher risk of dying young. The study used huge databases that feature records of 377,000 American youths before the pandemic.
What Cause High Youth Mortality Rate in the US?
The report, titled "Dying Young in The United States: What's Driving High Death Rates Among Americans Under Age 25 and What Can Be Done?" published in the Population Reference Bulletin last month revealed that young Americans in the US between 15 to 24 are twice as likely to die than the youths of the same age in Germany and France.
Additionally, UC-Boulder researchers found that the US records up to three times higher mortality rates for infants than in other high-income nations. They pointed out that high levels of poverty, violence and lack of social safety nets are responsible for the high youth mortality rates in the country.
"This is a bleak report, and it's tough to read," Forbes quoted the report co-author and sociology professor Richard Rogers from The University of Colorado-Boulder. "But it is also a call to action."
Researchers reported that 4 out of 10 deaths among young Americans between 15 to 19 years old are due to homicide or suicide, firearm-related deaths, and unintentional injuries like traffic-related ones, poisoning, and drowning. Conversely, the causes of adults death are usually due to sickness.
Notably, some states fare worse than other states, such as Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Tennessee. These states reported high youth mortality rates, especially among Black and Hispanic children and those who live in poverty or with parents who do not have a college degree.
Meanwhile, those children who live with married parents are often associated with higher and dual incomes, which likely contribute to being least likely to die young.
Male Young Americans Twice as Likely to Die From Homicide or Suicide
According to NNY360, the report also identified more males than females that are not likely to reach the age of 25 largely because of the higher risk-taking behavior among adolescents and young adults. More so, young male Americans are twice as likely to die from homicide or suicide than females.
Roger specifically pointed out that access to guns contributed to the high mortality rate among males. Gun violence in 2019 has killed 7,580 Americans under the age of 25, of which 61% of it was due to suicide. One-third of the US firearm deaths that year were also young Americans under 25 years old.
Moreover, the country also had the fourth-worst infant mortality rate compared to other countries, behind Mexico, Turkey, and Chile.
Rogers said that the solution to these high mortality rates in young Americans is more socioeconomic support to families, such as improving universal health care, improving educational attainment, addressing child poverty, and improving mental and behavioral support for the young males.
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