If you are a parent of a teenager, it’s important to understand the leading causes of death for US teens. Why? Because, by arming yourself with this information, you are in a better position to educate your teenage son or daughter about the leading dangers that are responsible for taking teens’ lives.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 16,375 teenagers between the ages of 12 and 19 died each year in the United States from 1999 to 2006. The CDC says the five leading causes of death among American teenagers are:
- Accidents (48% of teenage deaths each year)
- Homicide
- Suicide
- Cancer
- Heart disease
“Accidents account for nearly one-half of all teenage deaths,” reports the CDC. As a personal injury law firm, we are very interested in the “accidents” that are responsible for nearly half of all teenage deaths in the US. Which types of accidents are claiming the most teenage lives? The CDC says that motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death for teens in the accident category. No surprise there.
Injury-Related Deaths Rise Between 2013 & 2016
On June 1, 2018, CNN published an article entitled, “A ‘wake-up call’ about what’s killing America’s young people.” In the article, the author, Jacqueline Howard, said, “There has been a significant rise in accidental deaths, homicides, and suicides among young people across the United States, and experts are calling it a wake-up call.”
While the total death rate for US teens declined between 1999 and 2013 by 33%, it suddenly soared by 12% between 2013 and 2016, according to a 2018 report by the National Center for Health Statistics.
The report “revealed that this rise in deaths is attributable to injury-related deaths, such as traffic accident fatalities, drug overdoses, homicides and suicides, as opposed to illness, such as cancer or heart disease,” wrote Ms. Howard for CNN.
Next: Teen Driver Safety Tips
If you are a parent, please urge your teen to drive safely and to not drink and drive or engage in distracted driving. Also, advise your teen to always buckle up – it could save their life! If your teen was injured in an accident, contact The Zendeh Del Law Firm, PLLC today.