Significant adolescent health challenges: substance use and abuse. There is considerable substance use and abuse in U.S. high school students. Forty-six percent of high school students reported having tried cigarettes in 2009. In 2011 nearly 71% of high school students reported having had at least one drink; 21.9% admitted to more
Table 1-1 Causes of Death by Age in the United States, 2005 AGE GROUP (YR) CAUSES OF DEATH IN ORDER OF FREQUENCY 1–4 Unintentional injuries (accidents) Congenital malformations, deformations, and chromosomal abnormalities Homicide Malignant neoplasms Diseases of the heart 5–14 Unintentional injuries (accidents) Malignant neoplasms Congenital malformations, deformations, and chromosomal abnormalities Homicide Diseases of the heart 15–24 Unintentional injuries (accidents) Homicide Suicide Malignant neoplasms Diseases of the heart
From Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Health, United States, 2011: With special feature on socioeconomic status and health (website).
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus11.pdf#102 than five drinks on one day in the previous month, and 8.2% admitted to driving after drinking. Nearly 40% of high school students have tried marijuana; 11.4%, inhalants; 6.8%, cocaine; 3.8 %, methamphetamine; 2.9%, heroin; and 2%, injectables.
• Children in foster care. Currently there are about 400,000 children in the foster care system. Approximately 25,000 of these children must leave the child welfare system each year. Of those who leave, 25% to 50% experience homelessness and/or joblessness and will not graduate from high school. These children have a high incidence of mental health problems, substance abuse, and early pregnancy for females with an increased likelihood of having a low birth weight baby.
Obesity. The prevalence of obesity continues to increase. The prevalence of overweight children 6 to 19 years of age has increased more than fourfold from 4% in 1965 to over 18% in 2010. Currently it is estimated that 32% of children 2 to 19 years of age are overweight or obese. An estimated 300,000 deaths a year and at least $147 billion in health care costs are associated with the 68% of Americans who are overweight or obese.
Sedentary lifestyle. Among 6 to 11 year olds, 62% do not engage in recommended amounts of moderate or vigorous physical activity. Nearly 40% spend more than 2 hours of screen time (television/videos) per school day.
Motor vehicle accidents and injuries. In 2009, 1314 children 14 years of age or younger died in motor vehicle crashes, and 179,000 were injured. Other causes of childhood injury included drowning, child abuse, and poisonings. The estimated cost of all unintentional childhood injuries is nearly $300 billion per year in the United States.
Child maltreatment. Although there has been a slow decline in the prevalence of child maltreatment, there were over 760,000 reported cases of abuse in 2009. The majority (71%) of children were neglected; 16% suffered physical abuse, and nearly 9% were victims of sexual abuse.
Current social and economic stress on the U.S. population. There are considerable societal stresses affecting the physical and mental health of children, including rising unemployment associated with the economic slowdown, financial turmoil, and political unrest. Millions of families have lost their homes or are at risk for losing their homes after defaulting on mortgage payments.