Published 14 September 2009, doi:10.1136/bmj.b3742
Cite this as: BMJ 2009;339:b3742

News

Four in 10 deaths among young people worldwide from injuries, study finds

Zosia Kmietowicz

1 London

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

The first study into global deaths among 10-24 years olds has found that 2.6 million children and young people died in 2004, two in five of them from injuries and violence (Lancet 2009,374:881-92, doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(09)60741-8). The findings call into question the focus of worldwide child health policies, which prioritise HIV/AIDS and maternal mortality, say the authors .

Most deaths (2.56 million or 97%) among children and young people occurred in poor and middle income countries, two thirds of them (1.67 million) in sub-Saharan Africa and South East Asia, despite these regions containing just 42% of the juvenile population, the study found. High income countries had only 3% of the deaths, despite having 11% of the population in the age range studied.

The study found that the risk of dying between the ages of 10 and 24 in Africa was nearly seven times higher than in a rich country . . . [Full text of this article]


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