Infanticide rose sharply in the first year of the pandemic, becoming the leading cause of death for people under the age of 18.
The US is an outlier compared to other developed countries because firearms are a key driver of homicides, which have risen steadily by an average of more than four percent since 2013.
The number of murders rose particularly “rapidly” from 2019 to 2020 – from around 1,600 to more than 2,050, an increase of 28 percent. It was fueled by a sharp increase in gun-related homicides of minors, which increased by nearly 50 percent from 2019 to 2020.
The largest increases were among black children, and nearly half of those among children living in southern states. The latest study comes days after the anniversary of the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting.
Homicides have increased overall, but especially among boys, while homicides among girls have decreased
Guns are the leading cause of death in children under the age of 19
Gun violence is the leading killer of American youth today, surpassing car accidents, according to research report (File Photo)
Gun violence is now the leading cause of death for American children, surpassing accidents, disease and even drug overdose, University of Michigan researchers reported last spring.
The authors of the study from the federal government and Georgia State University wrote: “The survey results highlight infanticide as a public health concern that deserves immediate attention… The recent increase may be due in part to the overall trend in gun-related murders.” be.”
The other leading causes of death among minors are car accidents and suicide. As of 2020, car accidents were the leading cause of premature infant mortality.
It was the year that guns became the leading cause of death among children.
The researchers used data from the National Violent Death Reporting System to describe the circumstances of the violent deaths. They published their findings in JAMA Pediatrics.
The homicide rate among black boys aged 16 to 17 is nearly 74 per 100,000 children, which is 18 times higher than white children and nearly five times higher than Hispanic boys of the same age.
The study says, “Housing segregation disproportionately exposes children of color to concentrated poverty, segregated and underfunded education systems, environmental hazards, lack of safe spaces, and limited opportunities, all of which can increase the risk of violence.”
Murders also disproportionately affected older children, more than half of them among 11- to 17-year-olds.
Murders of infants and children under the age of five were typically committed by a male companion of a parent or mother as a result of abuse or neglect, with the home being the most common place where young children were killed.
Children aged 6 to 11 were mostly killed with a gun. Homicide rates were also higher among boys than girls.
The homicide rate dropped among girls and young children ages 1 to 5, as well as white children, Asian or Pacific Islander children, and children in the Northeast.
Infant and young child deaths were mostly associated with abuse. Most deaths among six to ten year olds were caused by firearms, usually by health care providers.
The majority of the murders occurred among black children, while nearly half occurred among children in the southern United States. These children also accounted for the most hospitalizations with gunshot wounds.
Although these losses and their consequences are essentially preventable, they are becoming more common, not less, despite numerous advances in other aspects of child safety. In fact, gunshot wounds have overtaken motor vehicle accidents to become the leading cause of death among children,” the authors wrote in an accompanying editorial.
The report’s authors identified an increase in violent gun crime during the Covid-19 pandemic as an indirect effect of widespread social isolation, exacerbating racial and economic disparities.
2020 marked the first year that gun violence surpassed car accidents as the leading cause of death — due to both an increase in gun deaths and a rapid decline in vehicle-related deaths over the past two decades.
A separate study released this week, also published in JAMA Pediatrics, found that the number of children hospitalized with gunshot wounds rose 52 percent between April 2020 and December 2021, compared to that rate between April 2018 and December 2019.
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Crystal Leahy is an author and health journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a background in health and wellness, Crystal has a passion for helping people live their best lives through healthy habits and lifestyles.
