Racial and Ethnic Disparities in All-Cause and Cause-Specific Mortality Among US Youth

Racial disparities in death rates widening for U.S. children & teens Black children, indigenous children, and other youth of color die from all injuries and diseases at disproportionately higher rates than white youth, according to a new study in JAMA. And the disparities are widening — between 2014 and 2020, the overall death rate among Black youth increased 37%, while only increasing 5% for white youth. The disparities persist across deaths from illness and injuries. Between 2016 and 2020, seven times as many Black youth died from asthma than white youth, and 10 times as many were murdered. In the same time span, the suicide rate for American Indian or Alaskan Native youth was more than two and a half times the rate for white youth. Researchers compared mortality rates for youth ages 1 to 19 using a national CDC database. They noted that between 2019 and 2021, the overall pediatric mortality rate increased by more than 18% — an increase mainly driven by homicides, suicide, and car crashes (Covid played only a small role). Firearms and crashes were the leading factors in widening racial disparities, with firearm injuries as the leading cause of death for all children and teens. The findings indicate that efforts to address gun violence will be needed to address racial disparities, the authors write. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2818483?guestAccessKey=964d2832-89ff-4409-a3a0-b96e343165cb&utm_term=050424&utm_campaign=ftm_links&utm_medium=referral&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9WfpXo793qr-_Ol0-InmvDFOkMJoXuHx6wuWiiUw4ZYkeh5MIuA_9fefjJwtha333IOPvYFRg3RXnchMuQtXkKnRDdRw&_hsmi=305565684&utm_content=tfl&utm_source=For_The_Media