More than 3,000 adolescents die daily around the world, primarily from preventable causes, according to a report from the World Health Organization.
The top five causes of death for teens ages 10 to 19 years old in 2015 were road traffic injury, lower respiratory infections, self-harm, diarrheal diseases and drowning. However, these risks vary based on age, gender and region. The study suggests teens living in low- and middle-income counties in Africa and Southeast Asia are at risk the most, for example, because two-thirds of all teen deaths in 2015 occurred in those regions.
Boys and girls also were at risk for different preventable causes of deaths. The top three causes of death for males included road traffic injury, interpersonal violence and drowning, while the top three causes of death for females included lower respirator infections, self-harm and diarrheal diseases. Within that, age mattered as well. For example, the leading cause of death for adolescent girls ages 10 to 14 was lower respiratory infection, while their older counterparts ages 15 to 19, were at risk most of dying from pregnancy complications such as sepsis, obstructed labor or unsafe abortions, according to the report.
"Adolescents have been entirely absent from national health plans for decades," Flavia Bustreo, MD, WHO assistant director-general, said in a press release. "Relatively small investments focused on adolescents now will not only result in healthy and empowered adults who thrive and contribute positively to their communities, but it will also result in healthier future generations, yielding enormous returns."
WHO called for increased interventions across sectors to improve adolescent health now and in the future.
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