Woolf et al. recently published some troubling statistics. (2023) CDC WONDER data
Between 2019 and 2020, the all-cause mortality rate for ages 1 to 19 years increased by 10.7%, and it increased by an additional 8.3% between 2020 and 202…These increases, the largest in decades, followed a period of great progress in reducing pediatric mortality rates. The majority of the rise in pediatric deaths was due to deaths among older children (ages 10-9). However, all-cause death in younger children (ages 1-9) also rose by 8.4% in 2021.
There are significant differences in the impact of increased mortality rates on different groups.
The increase in injury deaths that occurred in 2020 primarily involved males…non-Hispanic Black youths accounted for two-thirds (62.9%) of homicide victims aged 10 to 19 years; in 2021, the homicide rate among non-Hispanic Black youths aged 10 to 19 years was 6 times that of Hispanic youths and more than 20 times that of Asian/Pacific Islander non-Hispanic youths and White youths.
Gun violence has also increased.
Firearms…are the leading cause of death among youths aged 1 to 19 years and accounted for nearly half…
