9.6.1: Leading Causes of Morbidity and Mortality
In 2022, 4,156 U.S. children under 4 (28.0 per 100,000 population), and 6,239 children between 5-14 (15.3 per 100,000 population) lost their lives. The leading causes of death for children are not chronic lifestyle-related diseases or infectious diseases - although both of these are still health concerns for children. Importantly, the leading cause of death for children is unintentional injuries (accidents), which can often be prevented with safety technology, regulations, and behaviors. Below are the top 3 leading causes of death for children in different age groups in 2022 (CDC/National Center for Health Statistics, 2024b):
-
1-4 years of age
- Accidents (unintentional injuries)
- Congenital malformations, deformations and chromosomal abnormalities
- Assault (homicide)
- 5-9 years of age
- Accidents (unintentional injuries)
- Cancer
- Congenital malformations, deformations and chromosomal abnormalities
-
10-14 years of age
- Accidents (unintentional injuries)
- Intentional self-harm (suicide)
- Cancer
Accidents (unintentional injuries), include car accidents, drowning, falls, fires or burns, accidental poisoning, and suffocation. Toddlers have the highest risks for drowning. Car accidents are the highest risk of mortality for all children, and are often related to the inappropriate use or lack of seatbelts or car seats (Seabert et al., 2021). A very concerning trend is that of firearm injuries and deaths. If we combine causes of death for children and adolescents, there were more firearm related deaths in 2022 than car accident deaths. Firearm deaths include both firearm accidents (such as children playing with a firearm, or accidental discharge), assault or homicide with a firearm, and suicide. From 2019 to 2022 the number of firearm deaths for those under 18 increased by 46%, demonstrating this growing problem. And firearm deaths disproportionately affect Black children and adolescents at nearly 6 times the rate of other races/ethnicities, and American/Indian Alaskan Native children and adolescents at 3 times the rate of other races/ethnicities. Death rates from firearms are also 4 times higher in boys than in girls. The highest risk of gun death for young people of all ages comes from assault, followed by suicide for adolescents, and accidental gun deaths for children (Panchal, 2024). Violence is a significant public health problem, particularly for children and youth.