Research Sheds Light on What's Killing Young People

The death rate among young people around the world has been declining, a new study shows. But boys and young men are not doing as well as girls and young women. This data come from a major analysis published by The Lancet in late October with an intent was to provide governments and nonprofit groups with data that show where public health efforts are needed. Overall, about a third of deaths in young people were due to accidents, injuries or conflicts and violence. Another third were from infections, poor nutrition or pregnancy. And the rest were from non-communicable diseases such as cancer or suicide. The researchers note that many of these premature deaths are preventable.