In a troubling statistic, US infants and children are nearly twice as likely to die before they reach adulthood compared to their counterparts in other affluent nations, according to recent research.

Researchers from Philadelphia Children’s Hospital and the University of California reported that children’s health in the U.S. has been declining across various metrics since the early 2000s. Their findings were shared last month in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The study reviewed the rates of infant and child fatalities from 2007 to 2023 and compared these with data from 18 other high-income countries.

The study revealed that U.S. infants, children, and teenagers were approximately 1.8 times more likely to die before reaching adulthood when compared to those in peer nations.

For infants, the leading causes of the disparity involved issues related to prematurity and sudden unexpected infant death.

Among children and teens, the most significant causes of death were related to firearms and traffic accidents.

Gun violence particularly has become the leading cause of death for youth since 2020, with death rates from firearms among young people more than doubling since 2013.

Experts noted that many fatalities due to premature birth, gun violence, and sudden unexplained infant deaths are preventable, as discussed by three doctors in an opinion piece following the new report.

Notably, these causes of death were found to impact non-Hispanic Black youth at rates up to four times higher than non-Hispanic White youth.

The authors estimated that the mortality gap between the U.S. and other countries resulted in nearly 316,000 children and adolescents losing their lives between 2007 and 2023.

Additionally, the study highlighted a rising trend in chronic diseases among children during the research period, such as obesity, early onset of puberty, sleep issues, limited physical activity, feelings of depression, and loneliness.

Overall, American residents face a lower life expectancy and poorer health outcomes, even as the U.S. invests nearly double the healthcare expenditure compared to other wealthy nations.

To enhance infant and child health, the opinion piece suggested measures such as anti-poverty initiatives, expanded health insurance options, and stricter gun laws alongside investments in primary care.