As of 2022, the third leading cause of death among teenagers aged 15 to 19 years in the United States was intentional self-harm or suicide, contributing around 17 percent of deaths among age group. The leading cause of death at that time was unintentional injuries, contributing to around 37.4 percent of deaths, while 21.8 percent of all deaths in this age group were due to assault or homicide. Cancer and heart disease, the overall leading causes of death in the United States, are also among the leading causes of death among U.S. teenagers. Adolescent suicide in the United States In 2021, around 22 percent of students in grades 9 to 12 reported that they had seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year. Female students were around twice as likely to report seriously considering suicide compared to male students. In 2022, Montana had the highest rate of suicides among U.S. teenagers with around 39 deaths per 100,000 teenagers, followed by South Dakota with a rate of 33 per 100,000. The states with the lowest death rates among adolescents are New York and New Jersey. Mental health treatment Suicidal thoughts are a clear symptom of mental health issues. Mental health issues are not rare among children and adolescents, and treatment for such issues has become increasingly accepted and accessible. In 2021, around 15 percent of boys and girls aged 5 to 17 years had received some form of mental health treatment in the past year. At that time, around 35 percent of youths aged 12 to 17 years in the United States who were receiving specialty mental health services were doing so because they had thought about killing themselves or had already tried to kill themselves.

Over the last few years, gun violence in the United States has become an increasingly deadly public health crisis. In 2021, firearms were the leading cause of death for children and adolescents aged one to 19 years old for a second year in a row in the United States, with 4,733 deaths from firearms, which accounted for more deaths than car crashes and other diseases in that year. This is an increase from the previous year, when there were 4,357 deaths from firearms. Gun violence in the U.S.
Along with a rise in gun-related deaths, the United States has been experiencing an overall increase in gun violence, including mass shootings, school shootings, and gun homicides. Not surprisingly, the United States has also reported in increase in gun sales, with the unit sales for firearms reaching a new high in recent years. A uniquely American problem
Despite the rise of gun violence and gun-related deaths, guns remain easily accessible in the United States and gun control has become a divisive issue throughout the nation. However, gun control proponents often call attention to the uniquely American phenomenon of school shootings. Since 2018, the annual number of incidents involving firearms at K-12 schools in the U.S. reached over 100 in each year, while similar incidents in other countries with strict gun laws are exceptionally rare..

In 2022, the leading causes of death among children and adolescents in the United States aged 10 to 14 were unintentional injuries, intentional self-harm (suicide), and cancer. That year, unintentional injuries accounted for around 25 percent of all deaths among this age group. Leading causes of death among older teens Like those aged 10 to 14 years, the leading cause of death among older teenagers in the U.S. aged 15 to 19 years is unintentional injuries. In 2022, unintentional injuries accounted for around 37 percent of all deaths among older teens. However, unlike those aged 10 to 14, the second leading cause of death among teens aged 15 to 19 is assault or homicide. Sadly, the third leading cause of death among this age group is suicide, making suicide among the leading three causes of death for both age groups. Teen suicide Suicide remains a major problem among teenagers in the United States, as reflected in the leading causes of death among this age group. It was estimated that in 2021, around 22 percent of high school students in the U.S. considered attempting suicide in the past year, with this rate twice as high for girls than for boys. The states with the highest death rates due to suicide among adolescents aged 15 to 19 years are Montana, South Dakota, and New Mexico. In 2022, the death rate from suicide among this age group in Montana was 39 per 100,000 population. In comparison, New York, the state with the lowest rate, had just five suicide deaths among those aged 15 to 19 years per 100,000 population.

Rank, number of deaths, percentage of deaths, and age-specific mortality rates for the leading causes of death, by age group and sex, 2000 to most recent year.

This statistic presents the global death rates for the leading causes of death among males aged 15 to 19 years in 2015, per 100,000 population. Road injuries emerged as the leading cause of global deaths among adolescent males aged 15 to 19 years with a death rate of 22 per 100,000 population, followed by interpersonal violence and self-harm.

In 2022, the leading cause of death among teenagers in the United States aged 15 to 19 was accidents or unintentional injuries. At that time, the death rate for accidents among teens aged 15 to 19 years was 22 per 100,000 population.

Number of deaths and age-specific mortality rates for selected grouped causes, by age group and sex, 2000 to most recent year.

ObjectivePromoting adolescent health is essential to achieving the goals of the Healthy China 2030 (HC 2030) initiative. As socioeconomic conditions improve and medical practices and disease patterns evolve, adolescent mortality rates and causes of death vary considerably. This study provides up-to-date data on adolescent mortality and causes of death in China, highlighting key areas of focus for investment in adolescent health.MethodsData regarding mortality and causes of death in Chinese adolescents aged 10–19 years were extracted from the Global Burden of Disease study from 1990 to 2019. The data variables were examined according to year, sex, and age. The autoregressive integrated moving average model was used to predict non-communicable disease (NCD) mortality rates and rank changes in the leading causes of death until 2030.ResultsThe all-cause mortality rate (per 100,000 population) of Chinese adolescents aged 10–19 years steadily declined from 1990 (72.6/100,000) to 2019 (28.8). Male adolescents had a higher mortality (37.5/100,000 vs. 18.6 in 2019) and a slower decline rate (percent: −58.7 vs. −65.0) than female adolescents. Regarding age, compared with those aged 10–14 years, the mortality rate of adolescents aged 15–19 years had a higher mortality (35.9/100,000 vs. 21.2 in 2019) and a slower decrease rate (percent: −57.6 vs. −63.2). From 1990 to 2019, the rates of communicable, maternal, and nutritional diseases declined the most (percent: −80.0), while injury and NCDs mortality rates were relatively slow (percent: −50.0 and −60.0). In 2019, the five leading causes of death were road injuries (6.1/100,000), drowning (4.5), self-harm (1.9), leukemia (1.9), and congenital birth defects (1.3). Furthermore, NCDs' mortality rate decreased by −46.6% and −45.4% between 2015–2030 and 2016–2030, respectively.ConclusionA notable decline was observed in all-cause mortality rates among Chinese adolescents aged 10–19 years. In addition, the mortality rates of NCDs are projected to meet the target from the Global Strategy for Women's, Children's, and Adolescents' Health (2016–2030) and HC2030 reduction indicators by 2030. However, it should be noted that injury is the leading cause of death, with sexual and age disparities remaining consistent.

Data Source: DC Firearm Injury Surveillance Through Emergency Rooms (FASTER), DC Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME), and American Community Survey (ACS) 1-Year Estimates.

Why This Matters

Firearms are one of the leading causes of death in the United States, and the leading cause of death for American youth.

Gun violence also has a larger impact on communities and families. Knowing someone who died from gun violence is associated with negative mental health outcomes.

Nationally, Black youth are killed by firearm-related incidents at five times the rate of white youth. Segregation and disinvestment in Black communities drives this disparity by reinforcing poverty and failing to provide adequate resources and amenities.

The District Response

The District of Columbia’s Office of Gun Violence Prevention was created in January 2022 to coordinate efforts to prevent gun violence. The Gun Violence Dashboards are updated daily with gun violence data from the previous day.

The Building Block Grants awards funding to community members or organizations to provide innovative programming, activities, resources, and/or services to reduce gun violence in DC neighborhoods.

The Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement’s Violence Intervention Initiative is a collaborative community engagement strategy designed to support District residents in reducing gun-related violence in our communities.

Teenage and total suicide deaths at either the state or county level.

Suicide is the second leading cause of death for young people in the US. Understanding how suicide affects your community can help to address the many factors that contribute to this preventable public health problem.

IDPH Leading Causes of Death, Youth - Ages 15-24, 2008

This statistic presents the global death rates for the leading causes of death among adolescents aged 10 to 14 years in 2015, per 100,000 population. Lower respiratory infections emerged as the leading cause of deaths among adolescents aged 10 to 14 years with a death rate of 6.7 per 100,000 population.

This statistic presents the global death rates for the leading causes of deaths among females aged 15 to 19 years in 2015, per 100,000 population. Maternal conditions emerged as the leading cause of global deaths among adolescent females aged 15 to 19 years with a death rate of 10.1 per 100,000 population, followed by self-harm and road injury.

According to the data from 2025, some 16 percent of respondents said that rising health care costs were the most important health issue facing the United States. Cancer ranked second on the list with 15 percent. Issues with healthcare costsCurrently, the most urgent problem facing American healthcare is the high costs of care. The high expense of healthcare may deter people from getting the appropriate treatment when they need medical care or cause them to completely forego preventative care visits. Many Americans reported that they may skip prescription doses or refrain from taking medication as prescribed due to financial concerns. Such health-related behavior can result in major health problems, which may raise the long-term cost of care. Inflation, medical debt, and unforeseen medical expenses have all added to the burden that health costs are placing on household income. Gun violence issueThe gun violence epidemic has plagued the United States over the past few years, yet very little has been done to address the issue. In recent years, gun violence has become the leading cause of death among American children and teens. Even though more than half of Americans are in favor of tougher gun control regulations, there is little political will to strongly reform the current gun law. Gun violence has a deep traumatic impact on survivors and society, it is developing into a major public health crisis in the United States.

Annual age-standardised mortality rates for causes considered avoidable, treatable and preventable in England and Wales for children and young people (aged 0 to 19 years), 2001 to 2023.

Number of deaths and mortality rates, by age group, sex, and place of residence, 1991 to most recent year.

In the United States, Black people have higher rates of gun homicide than White people across all age groups. As of 2022, gun homicide rates were highest among Black people aged between 15 and 24 years, at 63.78 gun homicides per 100,000 of the population. In comparison, there were only 2.58 gun homicides per 100,000 of the White population within this age range. However, the risk for gun homicide was greatest among all adolescents and adults between the ages of 15 to 44 in that year. The impact of guns on young Americans In the last few years, firearms have become the leading cause of death for American children and teenagers aged one to 19 years old, accounting for more deaths than car crashes and diseases. School shootings also remain on the rise recently, with the U.S. recording 57 times as many school shootings than other high-income nations from 2009 to 2018. Black students in particular experience a disproportionately high number of school shootings relative to their population, and K-12 teachers at schools made up mostly of students of color are more likely to report feeling afraid that they or their students would be a victim of attack or harm. The right to bear arms Despite increasingly high rates of gun-related violence, gun ownership remains a significant part of American culture, largely due to the fact that the right to bear arms is written into the U.S. Constitution. Although firearms are the most common murder weapon used in the U.S., accounting for approximately 15,000 homicides in 2022, almost half of American households have at least one firearm in their possession. Consequently, it is evident that firearms remain easily accessible nationwide, even though gun laws may vary from state to state. However, the topic of gun control still causes political controversy, as the majority of Republicans agree that it is more important to protect the right of Americans to own guns, while Democrats are more inclined to believe that it is more important to limit gun ownership.

In 2022, the leading cause of death among people aged 10 to 24 years old in South Korea was suicide, resulting in approximately **** deaths per 100,000 population. Suicide has been the primary cause of death among people aged 10 to 24 in South Korea for the past few years.

Abstract Background: Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of deaths in the world, and many events could be prevented by healthy life habits. Objectives: To compare the occurrence of cardiovascular risk factors in adolescents enrolled at public schools in the city of Rio de Janeiro, including a renowned school for sport practices. Methods: Cross-sectional study, convenience sampling of 422 students enrolled at the Experimental Olympic Gymnasium (EOG) and at Figueiredo Pimentel School (FP). Using descriptive analyses, continuous variables were expressed as mean and standard deviation or median and interquartile ranges, and the Student's t-test or the chi-square test, respectively, was used for comparisons. The sports were classified according to the metabolic equivalent of task (MET) (below or above 5). Results: We included 274 students enrolled at the EOG and 148 at FP. Mean age was similar between schools -12.5 ± 1.6 years at FP and 12.6 ± 0.9 at the EOG; 65.5% of the students at FP and 43.8% of the students at the EOG were female (p < 0.01). Significant differences in the prevalence of hypertension (20% vs. 6.3%, p < 0.01) and borderline cholesterol levels (27.7% vs. 17.3%, p = 0.01) were found between FP and EOG students, respectively. Conclusion: High prevalence of hypertension, overweight/obesity and altered blood lipid profile was found in this group of adolescents. Regular sports training program combined with little influence of their eating habits outside school may contribute to a better metabolic profile and reduction in cardiovascular risk factors in students. Public health measures are also need.

The Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS) monitors 6 types of health-risk behaviors that contribute to the leading causes of death and disability among youth and adults, including: behaviors that contribute to unintentional injuries and violence; sexual behaviors that contribute to unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), including HIV infection; alcohol and other drug use; tobacco use; unhealthy dietary behaviors; inadequate physical activity. YRBSS also measures the prevalence of obesity and asthma among youth and young adults. YRBSS includes a national school-based survey conducted by CDC and state, territorial, tribal, and local surveys conducted by state, territorial, and local education and health agencies and tribal governments.