Child and Adolescent Mortality (Three-Year Average)

Related Indicators:

• Mortality by Age-Adolescent 10-14 yrs [view data]
• Mortality by Age-Adolescent 15-19 yrs [view data]
• Mortality by Age-Child Mortality 1-4 yrs [view data]
• Mortality by Age-Child Mortality 5-9 yrs [view data]

Life Area:

Physical and Emotional Health

Definition:

Child and adolescent mortality is the total number of deaths to children between 1 and 19 years of age. The annual number of these deaths per 100,000 children/youth ages 1 to 4 years, 5 to 9 years, 10 to 14 years, and 15 to 19 years is the respective child/adolescent mortality rate. Since child/adolescent mortality is a relatively rare event in many counties, the numbers and rates are presented as three-year averages. Three-year averaging improves the reliability of the data in counties with small populations where slight variations in the number of child mortalities can result in large fluctuations in their annual rates.

Significance:

The leading causes of child mortality are unintentional injury deaths and cancer. Unintentional injury deaths include non-motor/ motor vehicle injuries, homicide and legal interventions, and suicide. Most injuries are predictable and potentially preventable. As the age group changes, so does the cause of death (Public Health Policy Advisory Board, 1999).

Healthy People 2010 objectives call for a national reduction in the child and adolescent mortality rate to no more than 25.0 per 1,000 live births for the age group 1 to 4, and 14.3 per 1,000 live births for the age group 5 to 9. The objectives for a national reduction in the adolescent mortality rate for the age groups 10 to 14 and 15 to 19 is no more than 6.8 and 43.2, respectively, per 1,000 live births (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2000).

Findings:

• Child and adolescent mortality has been declining over the past decade in all age groups in New York State and especially in New York City.
• During 2008-2010 an average 194 children aged 1 to 4 years died per year in New York State, which is a decline from 2003-2005 (215 children). The New York City mortality rate for children aged 1 to 4 was 16.9 per 100,000 in 2008-2010, a 15 percent decline from 2003-2005. In Rest of State the mortality rate for this age group declined 3 percent between 2003-2005 and 2008-2010 to 22.6 per 100,000.
• In New York State, among children aged 5 to 9, the mortality rate dropped from 12.3 per 100,000 during 2003-2005 to 10.2 per 100,000 in 2008-2010. There was an average 123 deaths per year among children in this age group from 2008-2010. In New York City the mortality rate for children aged 5 to 9 declined 26 percent during these two time periods to 9.9 per 100,000. The mortality rate for children in this age group residing in Rest of State dropped from 11.6 per 100,000 in 2003-2005 to 10.5 in 2008-2010.
• Among children aged 10 to 14 residing in New York State, there was an average of 155 deaths annually from 2008-2010. The mortality rate was 12.8 per 100,000 children aged 10 to 14. This is an improvement over the rate in 2003-2005 of 14.5 per 100,000. In New York City and Rest of State the mortality rates for this age group were 12.6 per 100,000 and 13.0 per 100,000, respectively, in 2008-2010.
• Children aged 15 to 19 account for a large percentage of deaths among children under 20 years of age. In 2008-2010 an average of 513 children in this age group died in New York State. This is down from an average of 590 in 2003-2005. The mortality rate for this age group declined 17 percent between 2003-2005 and 2008-2010 to 37.6 per 100,000 children aged 15 to 19. Again, rates improved in both New York City (45.4 per 100,000 in 2003-2005 vs. 37.6 per 100,000 in 2008-2010) and Rest of State (45.5 per 100,000 in 2003-2005 vs. 37.6 in 2008-2010).

References:

Public Health Policy Advisory Board. 1999. Health and the American Child. Washington, DC: Public Health Policy Advisory Board.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 2000. Healthy People 2010 (Conference Edition in Two Volumes), Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.