Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 May;2(5):321-337.
doi: 10.1016/S2352-4642(18)30095-6.

Causes of death among children aged 5-14 years in the WHO European Region: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016

Hmwe H Kyu  1 , Claudia E Stein  2 , Cynthia Boschi Pinto  3 , Ivo Rakovac  4 , Martin W Weber  2 , Tina Dannemann Purnat  2 , Joseph E Amuah  2 , Scott D Glenn  1 , Kelly Cercy  1 , Stan Biryukov  1 , Audra L Gold  1 , Adrienne Chew  1 , Meghan D Mooney  1 , Kevin F O'Rourke  1 , Amber Sligar  1 , Christopher J L Murray  1 , Ali H Mokdad  1 , Mohsen Naghavi  5
Affiliations

Causes of death among children aged 5-14 years in the WHO European Region: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016

Hmwe H Kyu et al. Lancet Child Adolesc Health. 2018 May.

Abstract

Background: The mortality burden in children aged 5-14 years in the WHO European Region has not been comprehensively studied. We assessed the distribution and trends of the main causes of death among children aged 5-9 years and 10-14 years from 1990 to 2016, for 51 countries in the WHO European Region.

Methods: We used data from vital registration systems, cancer registries, and police records from 1980 to 2016 to estimate cause-specific mortality using the Cause of Death Ensemble model.

Findings: For children aged 5-9 years, all-cause mortality rates (per 100 000 population) were estimated to be 46·3 (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 45·1-47·5) in 1990 and 19·5 (18·1-20·9) in 2016, reflecting a 58·0% (54·7-61·1) decline. For children aged 10-14 years, all-cause mortality rates (per 100 000 population) were 37·9 (37·3-38·6) in 1990 and 20·1 (18·8-21·3) in 2016, reflecting a 47·1% (43·8-50·4) decline. In 2016, we estimated 10 740 deaths (95% UI 9970-11 542) in children aged 5-9 years and 10 279 deaths (9652-10 897) in those aged 10-14 years in the WHO European Region. Injuries (road injuries, drowning, and other injuries) caused 4163 deaths (3820-4540; 38·7% of total deaths) in children aged 5-9 years and 4468 deaths (4162-4812; 43·5% of total) in those aged 10-14 years in 2016. Neoplasms caused 2161 deaths (1872-2406; 20·1% of total deaths) in children aged 5-9 years and 1943 deaths (1749-2101; 18·9% of total deaths) in those aged 10-14 years in 2016. Notable differences existed in cause-specific mortality rates between the European subregions, from a two-times difference for leukaemia to a 20-times difference for lower respiratory infections between the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and EU15 (the 15 member states that had joined the European Union before May, 2004).

Interpretation: Marked progress has been made in reducing the mortality burden in children aged 5-14 years over the past 26 years in the WHO European Region. More deaths could be prevented, especially in CIS countries, through intervention and prevention efforts focusing on the leading causes of death, which are road injuries, drowning, and lower respiratory infections. The findings of our study could be used as a baseline to assess the effect of implementation of programmes and policies on child mortality burden.

Funding: WHO and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Countries in the WHO European Region and subregions Andorra, Georgia, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, and Turkey are not included in the subregion groups. Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania, and Republic of Moldova belong to more than one subregion. CIS=commonwealth of independent states. EU13=countries that joined the European Union after May, 2004. EU15=countries that joined the European Union before May, 2004. SEEHN=South Eastern Europe Health Network.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Top 25 causes of death in the WHO European Region, age 5–9 years, both sexes, 1990 and 2016
Figure 3
Figure 3
Top 25 causes of death in the WHO European Region, age 10–14 years, both sexes, 1990 and 2016
Figure 4
Figure 4
Rankings of top causes of death in WHO European Region, ages 5–9 years, both sexes, 2016
Figure 5
Figure 5
Rankings of top causes of death in WHO European Region, ages 10–14 years, both sexes, 2016
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. WHO . World Health Organization; Geneva: 2015. Health in 2015 from MDGs to SDGs.http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/200009/1/9789241565110_eng.pdf?... (accessed March 13, 2018).
    1. WHO Regional Office for Europe Child and adolescent health. Geneva: World Health Organization. http://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/Life-stages/child-and-adolescen... (accessed March 13, 2018).
    1. The United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UN IGME) Levels and trends in child mortality report. 2015. http://www.childmortality.org/files_v20/download/IGME%20Report%202015_9_... (accessed April 11, 2017).
    1. WHO . World Health Organization; Geneva: 2016. Global Health Observatory data repository.http://apps.who.int/gho/data/node.main.CM1002015REG6?lang=en (accessed Nov 18, 2017).
    1. The United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation Levels and trends in child mortality. 2017. http://www.childmortality.org/2017/files_v21/download/IGME%20report%2020... (accessed Nov 19, 2017). - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources