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BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article

Front. Public Health
Sec. Children and Health
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1428691

The leading causes of death in the US and Mexico´s pediatric population are related to violence: a note on secondary analyses of registered deaths from 2000 to 2022

Provisionally accepted
Maria F. Castilla-Peon Maria F. Castilla-Peon 1Pablo L. Rendon Pablo L. Rendon 2Nadia Gonzalez-García Nadia Gonzalez-García 3*
  • 1 Comisión Nacional de Salud Mental y Adicciones, Servicios de Atención Psiquiátrica, Dr. Juan N. Navarro Psychiatric Children´s Hospital, Mexico City, México, Mexico
  • 2 Institute of Applied Sciences and Technology, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Ciudad de México, México, Mexico
  • 3 Clincal Research, Hospital Infantil de Mexico Federico Gomez, Mexico City, México, Mexico

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Introduction: our objective was to analyze the trends in the leading causes of death among the pediatric population aged 1-19 years in Mexico and the United States (US) from 2000 to 2022. Methods. Data for Mexico were sourced from the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI), while the US data were extracted from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Wide-ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research (CDC-WONDER) databases. Results. Homicide has been the leading cause of death since 2017 in Mexico and since 2019 in US youths aged 1-19. In Mexico, it reached 6.5 deaths per 100,000 people in 2022. Despite the overall pediatric mortality decline from 2000 to 2022 in both countries, the pediatric homicide rate has increased by 93.3% and 35.8% In Mexico and the US, respectively, and suicide by 86.6% and 36.9%. In both countries, death by firearm-related injuries had risen in a parallel sense. In the US, deaths by drug overdose and poisoning have increased by 314.8%. Conclusions. Despite advancements in infant healthcare over the past two decades in Mexico, there remains a significant gap in the provision of healthcare services to the adolescent population. Addressing issues related to violence, mental health, and substance abuse through targeted public policies is imperative for both Mexico and the US, especially given their shared border region.

    Keywords: Adolescent and Young Adult Mortality, Violence, Mental Health, Mexico, Suicide, Overdose, Children Mortality, Firearm

    Received: 06 May 2024; Accepted: 26 Sep 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Castilla-Peon, Rendon and Gonzalez-García. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Nadia Gonzalez-García, Clincal Research, Hospital Infantil de Mexico Federico Gomez, Mexico City, México, Mexico

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.