National Adolescent Health Information Center
N
A
H
2006 Fact Sheet on
I
C
Mortality:
Adolescents & Young Adults
Highlights:
4 The majority of adolescent and young adult deaths are due to preventable causes.
4 Young adults have 5 times the mortality rate of younger adolescents.
4 Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death for adolescents and young adults.
4 Young males are more likely to die from each leading cause of death.
4 Mortality rates are highest among young American Indian/Alaskan Native and Black males.
4 Mortality rates have decreased overall since 1980.
4 The majority of adolescent and young adult deaths are due to preventable causes.
Leading Causes of Death, Ages 10-24, 20031
Motor Vehicle
Accidents
31.0%
All Other Causes
20%
All Other
Unintentional
Injuries
13.7%
Homicide
14.8%
Suicide
11.2%
In 2003, 71% of deaths among adolescents
and young adults ages 10-24 were due to
preventable causes of unintentional injury,
homicide and suicide. There were 37,624
deaths in 2003 among a population of 62.4
million in this age group, which represents a
mortality rate of 60.3/100,000.1
Malignant Neoplasm
5.9%
Heart Disease
3.4%
2006 Fact Sheet on Mortality: Adolescents and Young Adults - Page 2
4 Young adults have 5 times the mortality rate of younger adolescents.
160
Mortality Rates by Age and Gender, Ages 10-24, 20031
Deaths per 100,000
In 2003, young adults ages 20-24 were
5 times more likely to die than younger
adolescents ages 10-14. Mortality rates
continue to increase throughout the
lifespan. Males have higher mortality
rates than their female peers, a disparity that increases with age. For young
adolescents ages 10-14, the death rate
for males was 1.5 times that of females;
this difference in rates increased to 2.4
for adolescents ages 15-19 and 2.8 for
young adults ages 20-24.1
140.3
Females
Males
120
92.3
80
49.8
39.0
40
15.0
23.1
0
Ages 10-14
Ages 15-19
Ages 20-24
4 Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death for adolescents and young adults.
Mortality Rates by Cause and Age, Ages 10-24, 20031
1.2
Motor vehicle accidents (MVAs) account
for the largest portion of mortality
among adolescents and young adults.
The overall MVA mortality rate for those
ages 15-24 is 6 times higher than the
rate for ages 10-14. For suicide and
homicide mortality, the age difference
is more pronounced: the suicide rate for
ages 20-24 is 10.1 times that of ages 1014; for homicide rates this figure is 16.5.1
7.3
Suicide
Ages 10-14
12.1
Ages 15-19
Ages 20-24
1.0
Homicide
9.5
16.5
4.3
Motor Vehicle
Accidents
25.2
26.9
0
20
40
60
80
Deaths per 100,000
4 Young males are more likely to die from each leading cause of death.
80
Mortality Rates by Cause and Gender, Ages 10-24, 20031
Females
Males
Deaths per 100,000
60
38.4
40
25.5
20
14.9
11.1
2.2
11.4
14.8
Males have markedly higher
mortality rates for each major cause
of death. The gender differences in
mortality are greatest for homicide,
with males 5.7 times more likely to
die than females. For other major
causes of death, this proportion is
5.0 for suicide, 2.6 for all unintentional injury, and 2.2 for MVAs.1
2.6
0
Suicide
Homicide
Motor Vehicle
Accidents
All Unintentional
Injury
*These abbreviations apply to all figures and text throughout the fact sheet:
NH(s)=non Hispanic(s) AI/AN=American Indian/Alaskan Native A/PI=Asian/Pacific Islander
2006 Fact Sheet on Mortality: Adolescents and Young Adults - Page 3
4 Mortality rates are highest among young American Indian/Alaskan Native and Black males.
Mortality Rates by Race/Ethnicity* and Gender,
Ages 10-24, 20031
24.1
A/PI-NH
44.4
Females
American Indian/Alaskan Native and
Black non Hispanic males ages 1024 have the highest mortality rate
among same-age racial/ethnic
groups. Among same-age females,
AI/AN-NHs* also have the highest
mortality rate, followed by Black-NHs
and White-NHs.1
Males
34.1
White-NH
77.4
27.7
Hispanic
82.3
43.4
Black-NH
124.4
54.4
AI/AN-NH
142.2
0
40
80
120
160
Deaths per 100,000
4 The racial/ethnic disparities in adolescent and young adult mortality are greatest for homicide.
Mortality Rates by Cause & Race/Ethnicity, Ages 10-24, 20031
50
AI/AN-NH
Large racial/ethnic disparities exist
for homicide, with rates for Black-NH
adolescents and young adults at 2.6
to 12.0 times that of other racial/ethnic
groups in 2003. American Indian/
Alaskan Native-NH adolescents have
the highest mortality rates among
all racial/ethnic groups for MVAs and
suicide.1
Deaths per 100,000
40
39.9
White-NH
Hispanic
32.4
Black-NH
30
A/PI-NH
20.6
20
18.2
15.7
14.2
10.3
10
12.4
11.5
7.5
2.5
4.3
5.0 5.1 4.2
0
Motor Vehicle Accidents
Homicide
Suicide
4 Mortality rates have decreased overall since 1980.
Trends in Mortality Rates by Gender and Age,
Ages 10-24, 1980-20031,2,3
250
203.5
Deaths per 100,000
200
Males Ages 20-24
Males Ages 15-19
Males Ages 10-14
Females Ages 10-24
172.1
158.2
150
140.3
141.4
133.1
122.7
121.3
94.7
92.3
34.2
34.4
100
50
47.2
42.7
37.2
38.3
36.3
30.5
24.4
23.1
Overall, the mortality rates for
adolescents and young adults
decreased from 1980-2003. During
the early 1980s, there was a steep
decline in mortality rates; through
the mid-1980s and early 1990s, the
rates increased slightly; this was
followed by a slight decline in rates
during the mid-1990s. However,
since 1999, rates have leveled off or
increased slightly.1,2
0
1980
1982
1984
1986
1988
1990
1992
1994
1996
1998
2000
2002
*These abbreviations apply to all figures and text throughout the fact sheet:
NH(s)=non Hispanic(s) AI/AN=American Indian/Alaskan Native A/PI=Asian/Pacific Islander
2006 Fact Sheet on Mortality: Adolescents and Young Adults - Page 4
Data and Figure Sources & Other Notes:
1. National Center for Injury Prevention and Control [NCIPC]. (2006).
Fatal Injury and Leading Causes of Deaths Reports [Online Database].
Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. [Available
online at URL (11/06): http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/wisqars/]
2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC]. (2006). CDC
Wonder: Compressed Mortality/Population Data [Private Data Run].
Atlanta, GA: Author. [Available online at URL (11/06): http://wonder.cdc.
gov/mortSQL.html]
3. The female mortality trend is presented in one age group (ages 1024) because the rates among the three age groups differed only slightly
compared to the sizeable differences in male rates for the three age
groups.
National Adolescent Health
Information Center
Division of Adolescent Medicine,
Department of Pediatrics &
Institute for Health Policy Studies,
School of Medicine,
University of California, San Francisco
UCSF Box 0503
San Francisco, CA 94143-0503
T: 415.502.4856
F: 415.502.4858
Email: [email protected]
Web site: http://nahic.ucsf.edu/
Background on NAHIC
The National Adolescent Health Information
Center (NAHIC) was established with funding
from the Maternal and Child Health Bureau in
1993 (U45MC 00002) to serve as a national
resource for adolescent health research and
information and to assure the integration,
synthesis, coordination and dissemination of
adolescent health-related information.
NAHIC Faculty and Staff
Charles E. Irwin, Jr., MD
Claire D. Brindis, DrPH
David Knopf, LCSW, MPH
Sally H. Adams, RN, PhD
M. Jane Park, MPH
In all cases, the most recent available data were used. Some data are released Tina Paul Mulye, MPH
1-3 years after collection. In some cases, trend data with demographic break- Jody K. Williams, MA
downs (e.g., race/ethnicity) are relatively limited. For racial/ethnic data, the Michael Berlin, MA
category names presented are those of the data sources used. Every attempt
was made to standardize age ranges; when this was not possible, age ranges
are those of the data sources used. For any questions regarding data presented,
please contact NAHIC.
We would like to acknowledge Eileen Collins for
her assistance in formatting NAHIC fact sheets.
All listed Briefs & Fact Sheets can be
downloaded at http://nahic.ucsf.edu/.
NAHIC Briefs & Fact Sheets
A Health Profile of Adolescent & Young Adult Males
Fact Sheet on Demographics: Adolescents & Young Adults
Fact Sheet on Mortality: Adolescents & Young Adults
Fact Sheet on Reproductive Health: Adolescents & Young Adults
Fact Sheet on Substance Use: Adolescents & Young Adults
Fact Sheet on Suicide: Adolescents & Young Adults
Fact Sheet on Unintentional Injury: Adolescents & Young Adults
Fact Sheet on Violence: Adolescents & Young Adults
Suggested citation: National Adolescent
Health Information Center. (2006). Fact Sheet
on Mortality: Adolescents & Young Adults. San Francisco, CA: Author, University of California,
San Francisco.