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.

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.

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 ***** 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 ***** 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 *** in each year, while similar incidents in other countries with strict gun laws are exceptionally rare.

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.

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.

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 ** per 100,000 population, followed by interpersonal violence and self-harm.

In 2022, the leading causes of death for children aged one to four years in the United States were unintentional injuries and congenital malformations, deformations, and chromosomal abnormalities. At that time, around 31 percent of all deaths among these children were caused by unintentional injuries. Differences in causes of death among children by age Just as unintentional injuries are the leading cause of death among children aged one to four, it is also the leading cause of death for the age groups five to nine and 10 to 14. However, congenital malformations, deformations, and chromosomal abnormalities account for fewer deaths as children become older, while the share of deaths caused by cancer is higher among those aged five to nine and 10 to 14. In fact, cancer is the second leading cause of death among five to nine-year-olds, accounting for around 15 percent of all deaths. Sadly, the second leading cause of death among children aged 10 to 14 is intentional self-harm, with 13 percent of all deaths among those in this age group caused by suicide. Leading causes of death in the United States The leading causes of death in the United States are heart disease and malignant neoplasms. Together, these two diseases accounted for around 40 percent of all deaths in the United States in 2022. That year, COVID-19 was the fourth leading cause of death, with about six percent of all deaths caused by COVID-19. In 2022, the lifetime odds that the average person in the United States would die from heart disease was one in six, while the odds for cancer were one in seven and for COVID-19 one in 23.

The leading causes of death among children aged 5 to 9 years in the United States in 2022 were unintentional injuries, cancer, and congenital malformations, deformations and chromosomal abnormalities. At that time, unintentional injuries accounted for around 28 percent of all deaths among this age group. Child abuse in the U.S. Sadly, assault or homicide, was the fourth leading cause of death among those aged 5 to 9 years in the United States in 2022, accounting for around 9.4 percent of all deaths. That year, there were around 113,259 cases of child abuse in the U.S. among children aged 6 to 9 years and 129,846 cases among children aged 2 to 5 years. In 2022, there were around 5.36 child deaths per day in the United States due to abuse and neglect. Suicide among children Assault or homicide was also among the top five leading causes of death among children aged 10 to 14 years, but perhaps even more troubling is that suicide is the second leading cause of death among this age group. As with younger children, unintentional injuries are the leading cause of death among those aged 10 to 14 years, however, suicide accounts for around 13 percent of all deaths among this age group. Comparatively, suicide is not among the ten-leading causes of death among children from the age 1 to 9 years.

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.

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.

Rank, number of deaths, percentage of deaths, and mortality rates for the leading causes of infant death (under one year of age), by sex, 2000 to most recent year.

This study aimed to analyze changing trends in child injury deaths from 2006 to 2016 and to provide basic data for initiatives to help prevent child injury deaths through improvements in social systems and education. Specific causes of death were analyzed using micro-data of the death statistics of Korea from 2006 to 2016, which were made available by Statistics Korea. Types and place of death were classified according to the KCD-7 (Korean Standard Classification of Diseases and Causes of Death). The data were compared to those of other Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development countries. Changing trends were presented. The number of child deaths by injury was 270 in 2016. The death rate was 8.1 per 100,000 population in 2006, while it was 3.9 in 2016. The death rate of boys was 1.7 times greater than that of girls. Unintentional injury deaths comprised 72.6% of all child injury deaths in 2016, while intentional injury deaths comprised 27.4%. The first leading cause of unintentional injury deaths in infants (less than 1-year-old) was suffocation, while that of children aged 1-14 years was transport accidents. The second leading cause of death in infants was transport accidents, that of children aged 1-4 was falling, and that of children aged 5-14 was drowning. Pedestrian accidents comprised 43.7% of the transport accidents from 2014 to 2016. To prevent child injury deaths by both unintentional and intentional causes, nation-wide policy measures and more specific interventions according to cause are required.

IntroductionAlthough child and adolescent health is the core of the global health agenda, the cause of death and its expected contribution to life expectancy (LE) among those aged 5–14 are under-researched across countries, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).MethodsDeath rates per 10 years age group including a 5–14-year-old group were calculated by the formula, which used the population and the number of deaths segmented by the cause of death and gender from the 2019 Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study. LE and cause-eliminated LE in 10-year intervals were calculated by using life tables.ResultsIn 2019, the global mortality rate for children and adolescents aged 5–14 years was 0.522 (0.476–0.575) per 1,000, and its LF was 71.377 years. In different-income regions, considerable heterogeneity remains in the ranking of cause of death aged 5–14 years. The top three causes of death in low-income countries (LICs) are enteric infections [0.141 (0.098–0.201) per 1,000], other infectious diseases [0.103 (0.073–0.148) per 1,000], and neglected tropical diseases and malaria [0.102 (0.054–0.172) per 1,000]. Eliminating these mortality rates can increase the life expectancy of the 5–14 age group by 0.085, 0.062, and 0.061 years, respectively. The top three causes of death in upper-middle income countries (upper MICs) are unintentional injuries [0.066 (0.061–0.072) per 1,000], neoplasm [0.046 (0.041–0.050) per 1,000], and transport injuries [0.045 (0.041–0.049) per 1,000]. Eliminating these mortality rates can increase the life expectancy of the 5–14 age group by 0.045, 0.031, and 0.030 years, respectively.ConclusionThe mortality rate for children and adolescents aged 5–14 years among LMICs remains high. Considerable heterogeneity was observed in the main causes of death among regions. According to the main causes of death at 5–14 years old in different regions and countries at different economic levels, governments should put their priority in tailoring their own strategies to decrease preventable mortality.

Abstract This study investigated the magnitude and trends of cause-specific mortality among children 5 to 14 years of age in the state of Rio de Janeiro (RJ) from 2000 to 2019. We performed an ecological study, using data from the Mortality Information System (MIS). We calculated mortality rates per 100,000 children by chapters, groups, and categories of causes of death (ICD-10). Trends were estimated by joinpoint regression. Mortality rates among children aged 10 to 14 years were higher than those among children 5 to 9. The five leading causes of death were the same in both age groups, but they ranked differently. The two leading ones were external causes and neoplasms (31% and 15% among children aged 5 to 9 years; 45% and 11% among children aged 10 to 14 years). Among children 5 to 9 years, the mortality trend showed an annual decline (8%) from 2011 to 2015. Among children aged 10 to 14 years, the annual decline was 1.3% from 2000 to 2019. Mortality due to external causes decreased in both age groups, except for the category “Assault by unspecified firearm” (boys, 10 to 14 years) and “Unspecified drowning and submersion” (boys, 5 to 9 years). Mortality caused by neoplasms remained steady in both age groups. Infectious and respiratory diseases decreased differently between the two groups. Most causes of death are preventable or treatable, indicating the need for health and intersectoral investments.

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, there were 4,762 deaths among teens aged 15 to 19 years due to accidents. Homicide was the second leading cause of death among teens in this age group, with 2,781 deaths.

What are people dying from?

This question is essential to guide decisions in public health, and find ways to save lives.

Many leading causes of death receive little mainstream attention. If news reports reflected what children died from, they would say that around 1,400 young children die from diarrheal diseases, 1,000 die from malaria, and 1,900 from respiratory infections – every day.

This can change. Over time, death rates from these causes have declined across the world.

A better understanding of the causes of death has led to the development of technologies, preventative measures, and better healthcare, reducing the chances of dying from a wide range of different causes, across all age groups.

In the past, infectious diseases dominated. But death rates from infectious diseases have fallen quickly – faster than other causes. This has led to a shift in the leading causes of death. Now, non-communicable diseases – such as heart diseases and cancers – are the most common causes of death globally.

More progress is possible, and the impact of causes of death can fall further.

On this page, you will find global data and research on leading causes of death and how they can be prevented.

This data can also help understand the burden of disease more broadly, and offer a lens to see the impacts of healthcare and medicine, habits and behaviours, environmental factors, health infrastructure, and more.

By Saloni Dattani, Fiona Spooner, Hannah Ritchie and Max Roser

NOTE. RRfem, Relative risk for females compared with males; CI, confidence interval; χ2, chi-squared.aStatistics presented exclude deaths with undetermined cause (n = 174); of 238 NCD deaths, 13 ‘other’ NCDs are excluded from main cause of death analysis.bCD, communicable diseases (HIV, TB, malaria, other common infections).cHIV/TB is the combination of all deaths diagnosed with either TB or HIV as the cause of death.dSignificantly higher proportion of deaths in males, inverse RRmales presented [in brackets].

description: IDPH Leading Causes of Death, Young Children - Ages 1-4, 2008; abstract: IDPH Leading Causes of Death, Young Children - Ages 1-4, 2008

Suicide among children and young people (CYP) is a leading cause of death. In the UK children identified as suicidal are referred to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) for assessment and treatment. However, the number of children referred for suicidality, and their care journey is unknown. This retrospective cohort study conducted in two distinct CAMHS teams, in Scotland, UK, aimed to quantify the numbers of children referred for suicidality, describing this population and the outcomes of these referrals. All CAMHS referrals (n = 1159) over a 6-month period (Jan-June 2019) were screened to identify those referred primarily for suicidality. Data extracted included: age, gender, source of referral, reason for referral including underlying issues, whether offered an assessment, and referral outcome. Area based deprivation scores were attached to each referral. Associations between the referred CYP's characteristics (including source of referral and underlying issues) and referral outcomes were explored using Chi Square, Fishers Exact test, and one-way ANOVA. Referrals for 284 children were identified as being for suicidality across the two sites (Site A n = 104; Site B n = 180). These represented 25% of all referrals to these CAMHS over a six-month period. One third of these concerned children under 12. The underlying issues, referrals sources, and demographic indicators were similar in both sites. In site A 31% were offered an assessment, whilst in Site B which had a dedicated team for suicidal CYP, 82% were offered an assessment. Similarly, more children in Site B were offered treatment (47.8%), than Site A (7.7%). Referrals from A&E were prioritized in both areas, and those who had attempted suicide offered an assessment more often. Older children were more likely to be offered treatment, although they were more likely to present with a history of self-harming behavior and/or previous suicide attempt. There are high numbers of children being referred to CAMHS for suicidality, and many are young children (