How We Are Dying
September 23rd, 2009By Sarah Burris
2.5 million young people die worldwide each year
There is a new study backed by the World Trade Organization and developed by an international group of experts in adolescent health that names the top ways in which young people across the world are dying. While the reasons are bad enough, the most staggering thing is that the study shows that more than 2.5 million young people aged 10–24 years die worldwide each year primarily from preventable reasons.
Here are some quick facts about the unfortunate situation:
- Maternal conditions were a leading cause of female deaths at 15%
- The top ten causes of death in all 10-24 year olds, male and female combined, globally were
- Road traffic accidents (10%);
- Suicide (6.3%);
- Violence (6%);
- Lower respiratory tract infections such as pneumonia (5.9%);
- Tuberculosis (5.5%);
- AIDS (5.5%);
- Drowning (4.1%);
- Fire-related deaths (2.6%);
- Meningitis (2%);
- War (1.8%)
- No comprehensive studies of death in people aged 10—24 years have been done, even though this group consists of around 30% of the world’s population.
- More than a third of deaths were in southeast Asia, with Africa having the next highest mortality.
- Relative risks (RR) for death in Africa were higher than in any other region, and nearly seven times higher than in high-income countries.
- In high-income countries, traffic accidents caused 32% of deaths in males aged 10—24 years. Violence and suicide accounted for 10% and 15% of male mortality, respectively.
- In countries of low and middle income in the American region, high mortality rates for boys in late adolescence and young men were mainly due to violence. Such deaths were 26-fold higher in young men than in young adolescent males, and accounted for more than 42% of all deaths in those aged 15—24 years and for 9% of female deaths. Additionally, a rise of almost six-fold in traffic deaths and nine-fold in suicide was recorded for males between early adolescence and young adulthood.
- In the eastern Mediterranean region, violence-related deaths were at 17% among males
- In European countries, violence-related deaths were at 9%
- In southeast Asian countries, violent deaths among males was at 4%
- Countries in the western Pacific had a 6% rate of violent deaths among males.
There is a lot of information here, obviously. First, the fact that the leading cause of death among young women was related to child birth is disappointing. We know that access to health care globally is sub-par, but I was personally surprised that it was the leading cause of death among young women. The conclusions in the study are that these high numbers
“should be a further incentive for the promotion of developmentally appropriate sexual and reproductive health services for young people. In view of the high number of deaths due to abortion, to ensure not only that contraception is available but also that all abortions are safe would do much towards reduction of mortality in young women. In regions without substantial maternal mortality, rates of female deaths generally remained low throughout adolescence and young adulthood.”
I was also surprised by the comparison among the various regional deaths , which showed that the Americas had such a high rate of violence. You hear stories about war-torn areas, genocide in Darfur, and youth being recruited into terrorist groups, but it is the Americas that have such a high rate of violent deaths among young men.
And according to this chart:
Men and women in the American region tend to die more between 20-24 than any other youth age group.
I think this kind of data is indicative of the ways in which our country continues to fail its young people. The discussion section of the survey concludes:
“For deaths caused by violence, suicide, and accidental injury, policy responses will probably need to be complex and target a wide range of ages, but with particular benefits for this young age-group.”
While bicycle helmet laws are a great start for some youth, providing support for organizations that have a suicide prevention line is also important, and I have long wished for a national discussion about the reduction in violence. How it has obviously impacted our youth is a good indication that such a discussion continues to grow in importance.
Sarah Burris is a founding author at EverdayCitizen.com while also blogging at FutureMajority.com. She served as a reporter during Rock the Vote’s project “Rock the Trail” during the 2008 Presidential Election. Burris has had much experience in politics, working to raise money for various candidates.
The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author.
