AUTHOR=Zhu Jiaxin , Li Yilu , Zhang Chengcheng , He Jun , Niu Lu 

TITLE=Trends in mortality and causes of death among Chinese adolescents aged 10–19 years from 1990 to 2019

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Public Health

VOLUME=Volume 11 - 2023

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1075858

DOI=10.3389/fpubh.2023.1075858

ISSN=2296-2565

ABSTRACT=Promoting adolescent health is an important part of achieving the Healthy China 2030 (HC2030) initiative. With the improvement of socioeconomic levels and changes in medical models and disease spectrums, adolescent mortality rates and causes of death vary considerably. This study provides up-to-date data on mortality and causes of death among adolescents in China and identifies priority areas for adolescents’ health investment. 

Data regarding mortality and causes of death in Chinese adolescents aged 10–19 years were extracted from the Global Burden of Disease study from 1990–2019. Variations in the data were examined according to year, sex, and age. The Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average model was used to predict non-communicable disease (NCDs) mortality rates and rank changes in the leading causes of death until 2030.

The all-cause mortality rate (per 100,000 population) of Chinese adolescents aged 10–19 years steadily declined from 1990 (72.6/100,000) to 2019 (28.8). Male adolescents had a higher mortality (37.5/100,000 vs. 18.6 in 2019) and a slower decline rate (percent: -58.7 vs. -65.0) than female adolescents. Regarding age, compared with those aged 10-14 years, the mortality rate of adolescents aged 15-19 years had a higher mortality (35.9/100,000 vs. 21.2 in 2019) and a slower decrease rate (percent: -57.6 vs. -63.2). From 1990–2019, the rates of communicable, maternal, and nutritional diseases declined the most (percent: -80.0), while injury and NCDs mortality rates were relatively small (percent: -50.0 and -60.0). In 2019, the five leading causes of death were road injuries (6.1/100,000), drowning (4.5), self-harm (1.9), leukemia (1.9), and congenital birth defects (1.3). Furthermore, the mortality rate of NCDs was shown to decrease by -46.6% and -45.4% between 2015–2030 and 2016–2030, respectively. 

A notable decline was observed in all-cause mortality rates among Chinese adolescents aged 10–19 years. In addition, the mortality rates of NCDs are projected to meet the target from the Global Strategy for Women’s, Children’s, and Adolescents’ Health (2016-2030) and HC2030 reduction indicators by 2030. However, notably, injury is the leading cause of death, with sexual and age disparities remaining consistent.