U.S. Children Became Increasingly Unhealthy in Recent Decades
WEDNESDAY, July 16, 2025 -- The health of U.S. children worsened across a wide range of health indicator domains during the past 17 years, according to a study published online July 7 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Christopher B. Forrest, M.D., Ph.D., from the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and colleagues examined how U.S. children’s health has changed from 2007 to 2023. The analysis included data from mortality statistics from the United States and 18 comparator high-income nations from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD18), five nationally representative surveys, and electronic health records from 10 pediatric health systems (PEDSnet).
The researchers found that from 2007 to 2022, infants (younger than 1 year old) were 1.78 times more likely to die in the United States than in the OECD18, and 1- to 19-year-olds were 1.80 times more likely to die in the United States than in the OECD18. The largest net differences between the United States and OECD18 were seen for prematurity (rate ratio [RR], 2.22) and sudden unexpected infant death (RR, 2.39) for infants 12 months and younger and firearm-related incidents (RR, 15.34) and motor vehicle crashes (RR, 2.45) for 1- to 19-year-olds. The prevalence of 3- to 17-year-old individuals with a chronic condition rose from 39.9 percent in 2011 to 45.7 percent in 2023 within PEDSnet and from 25.8 to 31.0 percent for the general population. During the study period, there were increases for rates of obesity, early onset of menstruation, trouble sleeping, limitations in activity, physical symptoms, depressive symptoms, and loneliness.
"The broad scope of this deterioration highlights the need to identify and address the root causes of this fundamental decline in the nation’s health," the authors write.
Several authors disclosed ties to relevant organizations.
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