Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2009. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
 |
Voice of America - September 10, 2009
Paul Westpheling
A worldwide study points to traffic accidents as the greatest cause of fatalities among young people (ages 10-24). Other leading factors contributing to death in this age group are suicide, HIV/Aids and Tuberculosis.
"There is an impression that young people are completely healthy, but young people are dying as well," said Dr. Krishna Bose, a researcher for World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland. "The sad thing about this report is that most of these deaths are preventable," she said.
Ten percent of the total deaths came from traffic accidents; 6 percent from suicides and other inter-personal violence; 5 percent from HIV/AIDS and 5 percent from Tuberculosis.
"Just when this age group is starting to give us productive members of society, they die from preventable causes," Bose said.
Low Income and Poor Health Care Blamed
Analysis of statistics (from 2004, the last year for which complete statistics are available) showed 97 percent of the 2.6 million deaths among young people came in low and middle income countries. Bose said two-thirds of those deaths came in Southeast Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, two developing regions where health care is minimal or non-existent.
Mental Health Issues
Beginning at the age of 15, the number of suicides jumped sharply coinciding with the "coming of age."
"Young people are discovering the adult world where they are not entirely welcome," says Bose. "They start feeling the pressure (of becoming an adult) while having problems with their personal identity."
HIV/Aids And Tuberculosis
The number of deaths attributed to communicable diseases comes at a time when teenagers and young adults become sexually active and begin to travel.
There is no cure for the Human Immunodeficiency Virus which causes Aids.
Tuberculosis is not a killer disease and is treatable but "people in these areas don't have access to adequate care, which is the real problem," says Bose.
Maternal Deaths
Mothers dying during childbirth is the major cause of deaths among women.
"This can be prevented. It's a question of having adequate health care in place and having a prevention strategy," says Bose.
While a companion report from UNICEF on the mortality of children under the age of five published Friday in the British journal Lancet has received wider coverage, Bose said this is the first time researchers have focused on the causes of death in this age group.
In 2004, the world's population was estimated at 6 billion. The number of people between 10 and 24 years of age was estimated at 1.6 billion.
090910
VA090905
Copyright © 2009 - Voice of America. You are welcome to use any material that is published by voanews.com, or you may link to any of the web pages that Voice of America has published on the internet. There is no need to request further permission. Should you wish to establish a link to any VOA web pages, please send your request to pubaff@ibb.gov. We would appreciate that credit for any use of VOA material be given to voanews.com, Voice of America, or VOA, and we ask that you not abridge or edit any VOA material which you may use.
AEGiS is a 501(c)3, not-for-profit, tax-exempt, educational corporation. AEGiS is made possible through unrestricted funding from the National Library of Medicine, AIDS Walk of Orange County, and donations from users like you.
AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. This article first appeared in 2009. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.
Copyright ©1980, 2009. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content. .