On January 19, the U.S. Nonprofit Population Information Agency (PRB) released a new report showing that the United States has a higher mortality rate and lower life expectancy than people under the age of 25 compared with other wealthy countries. In 2019 alone, the death toll in this age group in the United States was close to 60,000, including nearly 21,000 babies. The data shows that the mortality rate of young people aged 15 to 24 in the United States is twice that of their peers in high-income countries such as France, Germany and Japan, while the infant mortality rate is 3 times that of other rich countries.
The report found that the U.S. population under the age of 25 has a higher mortality rate and lower life expectancy than other wealthy countries
The report found that the main causes of "early death" of children and young people in the United States are accidental injuries, suicides and homicides, while the primary causes of infant death are high rates of preterm birth and congenital malformations. Researchers from multiple U.S. colleges and universities concluded that violence, family poverty, and racial disparities are the main drivers of high mortality and low life expectancy among children and young people in the country.
At the same time, the report points to a series of "positive actions" the United States needs to take to improve the survival rates of infants, children, and young people, from improving benefits and funding child care, preschool education, housing, nutrition, and health care, to removing racial barriers and developing broad security measures related to gun ownership.
The infant mortality rate in the United States is three times higher than in other developed countries
The mortality rates of infants, children and young people are a strong indicator of the health of a country's population as a whole, because countries often resort to social and health policies to prevent situations that harm these groups, the researchers said. The report shows that from 2013 to 2019, the mortality rate of people under the age of 25 in almost all rich countries has been steadily decreasing, but the mortality rate of peers in the United States has been "stagnant" or even on an upward trend. Data from 2018 show that the mortality rate in the United States is higher in all age groups under the age of 25 than its peers in more than a dozen rich countries.
With or without a college degree, the mortality rate for babies born to black mothers in the United States is the highest
Life expectancy in the United States was 78.8 years in 2019, yet 59,865 people under the age of 25 died that year, including 20,921 babies under the age of one. Although the United States has one of the highest income levels in the world, it also ranks among the "highest in the world" in infant mortality. The data shows that the infant mortality rate in the United States is almost 3 times that of Finland, Japan, Iceland and other countries. The researchers attributed this difference to the high rate of preterm birth in the United States and economic and ethnic inequalities within the country, with relatively backward southern states with higher infant mortality rates. At the same time, economic resources and racial disparities affect people's access to health care, and the mortality rate for babies born to black American mothers is twice that of non-Hispanic white babies.
"These differences are particularly striking because we tend to think that early deaths occur randomly, either due to congenital problems or as a result of an accident." But these consistent, robust models suggest that the risks and protective factors associated with early death vary depending on the family's resources and environment. Elizabeth Lawrence, co-author of the report and assistant professor of sociology at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, notes that factors such as household income, parental education, race, family structure and regional location all have important links to the risk of early death among children and young people in the United States.
Data from 2018 show that the mortality rate in the United States is higher in all age groups under the age of 25 than its peers in more than a dozen rich countries.
For American teenagers, accidental injuries (such as substance abuse), suicide and homicide are the leading causes of early death in this group. The data shows that the mortality rate of adolescents aged 15 to 24 in the United States is twice that of their peers in high-income countries such as France, Germany, and Japan, and the researchers are shocked that the "violent death phenomenon" among young people in the United States is more common than in other wealthy countries. In 2019, nearly a third of Americans who died by gunfire were under the age of 25, and more than half of them were other-killed (non-suicidal). Second, suicide is the second leading cause of death among adolescents aged 10 to 24. Although the data used in this report predates COVID-19, the number of teen suicides among U.S. adolescents has risen along with a significant increase in depression and substance abuse during the last two years of lockdowns and school closures.
The report calls for "positive action" to save young lives
"The death of a child or young person is a great tragedy for parents, families and society." Robert Hemer, lead author of the report and professor of sociology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, noted that "the fact that we could have saved many young lives by policies that improve social and economic inequality and interventions to address security issues has also made these lives even more tragic." ”
The U.S. adolescent age group 20-24 has the highest mortality rate, at 83.4 per 100,000 population
Linda Jacobson, PRB's vice president of U.S. programs, also said that as a nonprofit organization that analyzes and publishes data on population and health trends, the purpose of the report is to "provide policymakers with the information and data necessary to prioritize social, economic, and health policies to reduce preventable deaths among young people in the United States." To reverse these trends, the researchers recommend that the U.S. government reduce child poverty through direct subsidies, expanded tax credits, and funding for child care, preschool education, housing, nutrition, and health care.
"One action that is particularly urgent now is to restore the recently expired child tax credit," said lawrence, co-author of the report, "and providing resources for the poorest families can do a lot of good in promoting the survival and well-being of babies and children." The U.S. Child Tax Credit (CTC) originally provided subsidies of up to $3,000 for low- and middle-income parents and up to $3,600 per child under the age of 6. Researchers at Columbia University estimate that as of last November, those payments lifted 3.8 million children out of poverty in the United States and reduced the child poverty rate by nearly 30 percent. More than 35 million U.S. households have faced an economic blow as this temporary tax policy expires.
At the same time, the researchers also called on the U.S. federal government to remove racial barriers and improve access to quality health care and reproductive health programs for minorities or ethnic minorities. For adolescents under the age of 25, the country needs to improve treatment and prevention of their mental illness and substance abuse, as well as develop broad security measures related to guns and gun ownership, such as a nationwide gun licensing system and a federal database of gun owners. The report's lead, a professor of sociology at the University of Colorado boulder, said: "Both the federal and the states need to take immediate and proactive action, and more targeted infants, children, young people and young families is an important way to ensure a brighter future for all Americans." ”
It has been reported that the PRB has proposed a series of policy proposals to reduce youth mortality in the United States, but some of them are difficult to endorse in Washington politics. For example, the researchers recommend banning so-called "assault weapons" and establishing a licensing system and a government database of gun owners, but in a country that enshrines gun ownership in its constitution, this proposal could run into difficulties.
Red Star News reporter Wang Yalin Intern reporter Hu Yiling
Edited by Guo Yu
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