Infant, Child, and Youth Death Rates
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Headline

Between 1980 and 2003, death rates dropped by 46 percent for infants, 51 percent for children ages 1 to 4, 44 percent for children ages 5 to 14, and 32 percent for teens ages 15 to 19. (See Figure 1 and See Figure 2)

Importance

The death of a child is a great tragedy for family and friends and a loss to the community. Injury is a leading cause of death among children and youth, accounting for more than a third of all deaths among children ages one to four, and half of all deaths among teens ages 15 to 19.¹ Among infants, the leading causes of death include congenital and chromosomal abnormalities, problems related to short gestation and low birthweight, and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).²

Trends

Death rates for children have fallen dramatically since 1980. For example, rates for infants under age one fell from 1,288 to 683 per 100,000 children between 1980 and 2001. (See Figure 1) In 2002 and 2003, however, death rates for infants rose, reaching 700 deaths per 100,000 in 2003. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the main reason for the recent increase in infant mortality is due to an increase in the number of babies born at very low birth weight.³

Between 1980 and 2003, rates for children ages one to four dropped from 64 per 100,000 to 32 per 100,000 and rates for children ages 5 to 14 dropped from 31 to 17 per 100,000. (See Figure 2) The rate for teens ages 15 to 19 also declined between 1980 and 2003, from 98 per 100,000 to 66 per 100,000, though there was a period of considerably higher rates among teens during the late 1980s. (See Table 1)

Differences by Age of Child

Children are far more likely to die during the first year of life than they are at older ages. The death rate for children under age one was 700 per 100,000 in 2003, compared with rates of 32 per 100,000 among those children ages one to four and 17 per 100,000 among those ages five to 14. Among teens ages 15 to 19, there were 66 deaths per 100,000 in 2003. (See Table 1)

Differences by Gender of Child

Death rates for males are substantially higher than rates for females for every age group of children and youth. The largest difference occurs among teens ages 15 to 19, where males are more than twice as likely as females to die (92 deaths per 100,000 teens versus 40 deaths per 100,000, respectively, in 2003). (See Figure 3)

Differences by Race and Hispanic Origin

In 2003, black and American Indian children had the highest death rates at every age level. Asian/Pacific Islander children had the lowest death rates among every age group. Hispanic and non-Hispanic white children fell in between, with similar rates at every age level. (See Table 1)

For example, in 2003, for children ages 1 to 4, death rates were 49 per 100,000 for American Indian children, 46 per 100,000 for black children, 29 per 100,000 for Hispanic children, 28 for non-Hispanic white children, and 23 per 100,000 for Asian/Pacific Islander children. (See Figure 4)

Related Indicators

Infant Homicide, Students Carrying Weapons, Physical Fighting by Youth, Suicidal Teens, Drunk Driving

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State and Local Estimates

State-level number of deaths for all ages are available at:
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/datawh/statab/unpubd/mortabs/gmwkiii.htm

State-level estimates are also available through the Kids Count Data Book 2005, located at: http://www.aecf.org/kidscount/databook/. Estimates for infants are mortality rates rather than death rates. Estimates for infants are mortality rates rather than death rates. Mortality rates for infants present deaths relative to the number of live births in a given year, rather than as a proportion of the total population under age one.

International Estimates

Estimates for infant mortality and mortality for children under age five are available from UNICEF, State of the World's Children 2005.
http://www.unicef.org/sowc05/english/fullreport.html (Table 1)

National Goals

The Healthy People 2010 initiative has set specific goals for reducing infant, child, and adolescent mortality. For additional information see: http://www.health.gov/healthypeople/document/HTML/Volume2/16MICH.htm#_Toc494699661 (See Goals 16-1, 16-2, and 16-3)

What Works: Programs and Interventions that May Influence this Indicator

None available at this time.

Research References

¹Anderson, RN. Deaths: Leading causes for 2000. National vital statistics reports; vol 50 no 16. Hyattsville, Maryland: National Center for Health Statistics, 2002. Pages 11 and 13.
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr50/nvsr50_16.pdf

²Ibid., 2005

³MacDorman, M.F., Martin, J.A., Mathews, T.J., et al. Explaining the 2001-02 infant mortality increase: Data from the linked birth/infant death data set. National vital statistics reports; vol 53, num 12,. Hyattsville, Maryland: National Center for Health Statistics. 2005.
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr53/nvsr53_12.pdf.

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Definition

Death rates are defined as deaths per hundred thousand persons of that age.

These estimates are based on death certificate data collected by law on every death in the United States, and compiled through the National Vital Statistics System.

Data Source

Data for 2003: Hoyert DL, Heron MP, Murphy SL, Kung H. (2006) "Deaths: Final Data for 2003." National vital statistics reports; vol 54 no 13. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. Estimates for ages 5-14 are based on Child Trends calculations using July 1, 2003 population estimates based on the 2000 US Census, as presented in Table 1 from the same report. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr54/nvsr54_13.pdf .

Data for 2002: Kenneth D. Kochanek, Sherry L. Murphy, Robert N. Anderson, and Chester Scott. "Deaths: Final Data for 2002," National Vital Statistics Reports, 53(5): Table 4. Estimates for ages 5-14 are based on Child Trends calculations using July 1, 2002 population estimates based on the 2000 US Census, as presented in Table 1 from the same report. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr53/nvsr53_05acc.pdf

Data for 2001 from Arias, Elizabeth, Robert Anderson, Hsiang-Ching Kung, Sherry Murphy and Kenneth Kochanek, (2003). Deaths: Final Data for 2001. National vital statistics reports: 52(3). Hyattsville, Maryland: National Center for Health Statistics. Tables 3 and 4.
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr52/nvsr52_03.pdf

Raw Data Source

Mortality Data, National Vital Statistics System
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/deaths.htm

Approximate Date of Next Update

November 2006

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