Global Youth Mortality: A Stagnant Front in Improving Health Outcomes

Strategic Insights -

Despite improvements in overall global health, mortality rates for young people aged 15-24 have shown little progress, and in some regions have even risen in the past decade. The Global Burden of Disease study reveals that the main causes of death among young people are preventable factors such as injury, violence, suicide, road traffic accidents, and substance abuse. This highlights the need for health systems worldwide to be better equipped to address social and structural causes of youth mortality.

Key Takeaways:

  • The Global Burden of Disease study analyzed over 310,000 data sources collected between 1950 and 2023 from 204 countries to estimate age-specific mortality trends across the lifespan.
  • In parts of North America and eastern Europe, mortality in those aged 15-24 has actually risen in the past decade, with deaths due to suicide, drug overdose, and alcohol-related harms among the main causes.
  • The study found that more than 80% of countries lacked nationally representative data across key health domains, including mental health and child health, rendering the health needs of marginalized groups invisible.
  • New research has shown that admissions for mental health conditions in adolescents have more than doubled in Spain between 2000 and 2021, with a surge in cases after the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Half of US young adults aged 18-24 reported experiencing symptoms of anxiety or depression, and more than one-third reported they'd recently thought about self-harm or suicide.
  • The response to youth mortality requires coordination across sectors, including addressing the root causes of death, such as road safety, violence prevention, and meaningful mental health care.
  • Youth health must be reframed as an equity issue, recognizing that many of the issues faced by young people are caused by conditions they do not control, such as poverty, exposure to violence, and lack of economic opportunity.
  • Preventing adolescent and young adult deaths is a critical frontier for ensuring a fairer and healthier future.

Statistics:

  • In east Asia, mortality in under-fives fell by 68% between 2011 and 2023.
  • For older adults, the global mortality rate declined by 67% between 1950 and 2023.
  • Cardiovascular disease and other non-communicable diseases account for nearly two-thirds of all deaths worldwide.
  • In North America, deaths among people aged 20 to 39 rose by as much as 50% in the past decade due to suicide, drug overdose, and alcohol-related harms.
  • Mortality in young women aged 15-29 living in sub-Saharan Africa was 61% higher than previously estimated, mostly due to maternal mortality, road injuries, and meningitis.

Sources:

  • The Conversation -- UK -- By Manuel Corpas, Lecturer in Genomics, University of Westminster
  • Surge in global youth mortality fuelled by mental illness, drugs, violence and other preventable causes (https://theconversation.com/surge-in-global-youth-mortality-fuelled-by-mental-illness-drugs-violence-and-other-preventable-causes-267459)