Infants and children younger than 19 are at greater risk of dying in the United States than in other industrialized nations, concludes a study of data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
The study in the journal Health Affairs finds that from 2001 to 2010, the mortality rate for infants was 76 percent higher than in 19 comparable OECD countries, including the United Kingdom, Canada, and Japan. The rate for children and teenagers was 57 percent higher.
While infant and child mortality has declined across all countries in the past 50 years, it has fallen more slowly in the United States.
The researchers said access to health care and education could explain some of the difference, particularly for infants and young children. Among 15- to 19-year-olds, the risk of dying from gun homicide was 82 times higher in the United States than in comparable countries.
