A global health study warns that high mortality rates among young people constitute an “emerging crisis.” Global health
The world is facing an “emerging crisis” of rising mortality rates among adolescents and young adults, according to a major study into causes of death and disability worldwide.
The researchers said the causes varied from drug and alcohol abuse and suicide in North America, to infectious diseases and injuries in sub-Saharan Africa, but they warned that their data should serve as a “wake-up call.”
The study also found that chronic diseases such as heart disease and diabetes now account for two-thirds of all ill-health and that mental health problems are on the rise.
Researchers have found that half of the world’s disease burden is preventable, driven by risks that can be reduced, such as high blood pressure, air pollution, smoking and obesity.
the Global burden of disease study It has been implemented by a network of 16,500 scientists using more than 300,000 data sources. It was published in The Lancet and presented at the World Health Summit in Berlin on Sunday.
It found that as of 2023, death rates had generally declined in all 204 countries and territories, and global life expectancy had rebounded from the decline caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The average lifespan is 76.3 years for women and 71.5 years for men, more than 20 years higher than in 1950 – although there remain “stark geographic differences,” ranging from 83 years in high-income regions to 62 years in sub-Saharan Africa.
However, the authors said they are particularly concerned about high or increasing death rates among adolescents and young adults.
In North America and parts of Latin America, increases were driven by suicide and drug and alcohol consumption.
The “very marked increases” among teens and young adults “certainly caught our attention when we looked at the data,” said Dr. Christopher Murray, director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington School of Medicine.
He added that the rise in deaths among young people, especially in North America, is “strongly linked to increased anxiety and depression among young people, especially women.” While the emergence of mental health disorders has received a lot of attention, there is still a lot of controversy about the causes, he said.
“Is this social media? Is this?” [electronic] Hardware? Are these broader social trends related to education? We know it’s gotten worse because of Covid. So, I would say that there’s a lot of controversy in psychiatric epidemiology and general social commentary about mental health-related causes. This is a problem to find solutions.
In sub-Saharan Africa, advances in modeling have revealed that deaths among children aged 5 to 14 years since 1950 have been higher than previously thought, with drivers including infectious diseases and unintentional injuries.
For girls and women aged 15 to 29 years, the mortality rate was 61% higher than previously estimated, mostly due to deaths during pregnancy or childbirth, road injuries, and meningitis.
“The evidence presented in the Global Burden of Disease Study is a wake-up call, urging government and healthcare leaders to respond quickly and strategically to troubling trends that are reshaping public health needs,” Murray said.
Dr Githinji Gitahi, CEO of Amref Health Africa, said the 60% of people in Africa under the age of 25 represent “amazing potential”.
He said: “Health is the strongest investment in this field, and integrated care is the key, when we face the triple burden of the cost of living, the rise of non-communicable diseases and infectious disease outbreaks, and climate change.”
“A siled approach to health care is failing our young people. Diseases such as malaria, HIV and tuberculosis continue to claim too many young lives due to weak health systems, broken care and vaccine gaps.
“At the same time, the dramatic rise in non-communicable diseases among young Africans is not just a future threat; they are claiming young lives every day now. There is very little regulation of food production and little nutrition education in urban environments, which is changing lifestyles and expectations.”
He called for “stronger health systems based on real investment in public health that focuses on youth.”
Emanuela Gakidu, senior author and professor at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, warned that current progress in low-income areas is at risk due to recent cuts in international aid. “These countries depend on global health financing to provide primary care and life-saving medicines and vaccines,” she said. “Without this, the gap is sure to widen.”
The Global Burden of Disease study is partly funded by the Gates Foundation, a charitable organization that also contributes funding to support The Guardian’s editorially independent Global Development section.