Study reveals that mortality rate has soared to 10.7% in the US, a 15-year high

A recent study examining the alarming increase in deaths among American youth aged 1 to 19 reveals that the mortality rate has reached a 15-year high of 10.7 percent, primarily driven by pandemic-related suicides, homicides, and drug overdoses, as reported by the Daily Mail.

This rise was observed between 2019 and 2020, and data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicates an additional 8.3 percent increase in the following year. According to a paper published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the surge in death rates is not directly caused by COVID-19 itself but rather attributed to a significant rise in violence, self-harm, drug abuse, and pandemic-induced suicides.

The study highlights that guns play a significant role in this alarming increase in deaths, which aligns with the substantial increase in gun violence cases reported in the United States this year. The pandemic, according to the study, added further pressure on American youth, exacerbating their sense of isolation and vulnerability.

Regarding COVID-19 mortality rates, in 2020, it accounted for 0.24 deaths per 100,000 individuals aged 1 to 19 years. In contrast, the surge in injury deaths was 12 times higher at 2.80 deaths per 100,000.

Lead author Steven Woolf, MD, director emeritus of the Center on Society and Health at Virginia Commonwealth University, expressed his concern, stating that he had not witnessed such a phenomenon in his career. He emphasized that the overall death rate among US children had been steadily declining over the years due to advancements in disease prevention and treatment. However, the current reversal of this trend is deeply alarming, indicating that children are now less likely to reach adulthood. Woolf stressed the urgent need to understand and address the underlying causes to protect the well-being of children.

The data also highlights a spike in suicides among children aged 10 to 19 starting in 2007, and an increase in homicide rates within the same age group since 2013. Suicides have seen a 70 percent increase in mortality rate, while homicides have risen by a third. Woolf suggests that contributing factors to these trends likely include increased access to firearms and a growing mental health crisis among children and adolescents.