As of 2023, the third leading cause of death among teenagers aged 15 to 19 years in the United States was intentional self-harm or suicide, contributing to around 17 percent of deaths among this age group. The leading cause of death at that time was unintentional injuries, contributing to around 38.6 percent of deaths, while 20.7 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 2023, New Mexico had the highest rate of suicides among U.S. teenagers, with around 28 deaths per 100,000 teenagers, followed by Idaho with a rate of 22.5 per 100,000. The states with the lowest death rates among adolescents are New Jersey and New York. 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 ***** 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.

Between the beginning of January 2020 and June 14, 2023, of the 1,134,641 deaths caused by COVID-19 in the United States, around 307,169 had occurred among those aged 85 years and older. This statistic shows the number of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) deaths in the U.S. from January 2020 to June 2023, by age.

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

The child mortality rate in the United States, for children under the age of five, was 462.9 deaths per thousand births in 1800. This means that for every thousand babies born in 1800, over 46 percent did not make it to their fifth birthday. Over the course of the next 220 years, this number has dropped drastically, and the rate has dropped to its lowest point ever in 2020 where it is just seven deaths per thousand births. Although the child mortality rate has decreased greatly over this 220 year period, there were two occasions where it increased; in the 1870s, as a result of the fourth cholera pandemic, smallpox outbreaks, and yellow fever, and in the late 1910s, due to the Spanish Flu pandemic.

We used publicly available data to create these simulation files, which contain all the necessary data to replicate our results, figures, and tables. See the code repository for more information on how to reconstruct these files: https://github.com/benjisamschlu/parental_death.

During the 2019-20 school year, one youth committed suicide on the campus of a functioning elementary or secondary school. It has been found that the death rate for suicide in the U.S. for males has remained higher than that of females for the entire period between 1950 to 2019.

Since the 1950s, the suicide rate in the United States has been significantly higher among men than women. In 2022, the suicide rate among men was almost four times higher than that of women. However, the rate of suicide for both men and women has increased gradually over the past couple of decades. Facts on suicide in the United States In 2022, the rate of suicide death in the United States was around 14 per 100,000 population. The suicide rate in the U.S. has generally increased since the year 2000, with the highest rates ever recorded in the years 2018 and 2022. In the United States, death rates from suicide are highest among those aged 45 to 64 years and lowest among younger adults aged 15 to 24. The states with the highest rates of suicide are Montana, Alaska, and Wyoming, while New Jersey and Massachusetts have the lowest rates. Suicide among men In 2023, around 4.5 percent of men in the United States reported having serious thoughts of suicide in the past year. Although this rate is lower than that of women, men still have a higher rate of suicide death than women. One reason for this may have to do with the method of suicide. Although firearms account for the largest share of suicide deaths among both men and women, firearms account for almost 60 percent of all suicides among men and just 35 percent among women. Suffocation and poisoning are the other most common methods of suicide among women, with the chances of surviving a suicide attempt from these methods being much higher than surviving an attempt by firearm. The age group with the highest rate of suicide death among men is by far those aged 75 years and over.

According to the latest available data, there were around **** suicide deaths per 100,000 population in the United States in 2023. Suicide remains one of the leading causes of death in the U.S. highlighting the need for awareness and prevention. The suicide rate in the U.S. has risen for both men and women in recent years but remains over ***** times higher for men. Hospitalizations In 2021, there were around ******* adults hospitalized in the U.S. after a suicide attempt. Although the suicide rate among men is significantly higher than among women, there are more hospitalizations after suicide attempts for women than for men. In 2019, there were ******* such hospitalizations among women and ******* hospitalizations among men. Public opinionSuicide can be a divisive topic that involves religious and political views. Recent data shows that ** percent of the U.S. population believes suicide is morally wrong, while ** percent believe it to be morally acceptable. However, only ** percent of adults believe it is “very important” to invest public dollars in the prevention of suicide.

In 2019, there were six deaths by homicide per 100,000 of the population in the United States, compared to 5.9 deaths by homicide in the previous year. This is an increase from 1950, when there were 5.1 deaths by homicide per 100,000 resident population in the United States. However, within the provided time period, the death rate for homicide in the U.S. was highest in 1980, when there were 10.4 deaths by homicide per 100,000 of the population in the United States.

Homicides in the United States

The term homicide is used when a human being is killed by another human being. Criminal homicide takes several forms, for example murder; but homicide is not always a crime, it also includes affirmative defense, insanity, self-defense or the execution of convicted criminals. In the United States, youth homicide has especially been seen as a problem of urban areas, due to poverty, limited adult supervision, involvement in drug and gang activities, and school failure. Both homicide rates and suicide rates in the U.S. among people aged 20 to 24 and teenagers aged 15 to 19 have vastly increased since 2001.

Motor-vehicle deaths in the United States have decreased greatly since the 1970s and 1980s. In 2023, there were around **** deaths from motor vehicles per 100,000 population, compared to a rate of **** deaths per 100,000 in 1970. Laws requiring drivers and passengers to wear safety belts and advancements in safety technology in vehicles are major drivers for these reductions. Motor-vehicle accidents in the U.S. Americans spend a significant amount of time behind the wheel. Many cities lack convenient and reliable public transportation and, especially in rural areas, cars are a necessary means of transportation. In 2020, August was the month with the highest number of fatal crashes, followed by September and June. The deadliest time of day for fatal vehicle crashes is between * and * p.m., most likely due to the after-work rush hour and more people who are under the influence of alcohol. Drinking and driving among youth Drinking and driving remains a relevant problem across the United States and can be especially problematic among younger people. In 2023, around *** percent of those aged 21 to 25 years in the United States reported driving under the influence of alcohol in the preceding year. Furthermore, around ***** percent of those aged 16 to 20 drove after drinking within the past year.

In 2022, around 80 percent of transgender people in the United States had considered suicide, while around 40 percent had attempted suicide. There has been an upward trend in both the considered and attempted suicide rate since 2000, when 61 percent of transgender people considered committing suicide and 28 percent had attempted it.