Overdose deaths among children more than double

The mortality rate for people one to 19 years old skyrocketed from 2019 to 2021, the largest increase in decades. Recorded deaths for citizens in this age range increased by 10.7% from 2019 to 2020 and by 8.4% from 2020 to 2021.

According to a study published in the scientific journal JAMA Network, the increase in the mortality rate occurred mostly among people aged 10 to 19. Among children from one to 10 years of age, growth was milder. The percentage of deaths of children under one year of age did not increase considerably.

The researchers determined that the coronavirus did not have a major impact on the increase in the mortality rate, despite coinciding with the pandemic years. They found that the increase was due to an increase in traffic accidents, homicides, suicides and illnesses.

Overdose deaths more than doubled

The homicide death rate for those aged 10-19 years increased more than 39% from 2020 to 2021. There has been a greater increase in deaths related to excessive drug use. A 113.5% increase in unintentional overdose deaths was observed during this time period.

On the other hand, traffic fatalities increased by 15.6% for people aged 10 to 19 years old between 2020 and 2021. The study concluded that firearms were linked to nearly half of the increase in deaths from homicide or suicide in 2020.