Adolescent Health

(Data are for the U.S.)

 

Health status

• Percent of adolescents 12-17 years of age who are in excellent or very good health: 80.5%
• Percent of adolescents 12-17 years of age who missed 11 or more days of school in the past 12 months because of illness or injury: 6.7%

Source: Summary Health Statistics for U.S. Children: National Health Interview Survey, 2010, tables VIII, X [PDF - 715 KB]

 

Health risk factors

• Percent of adolescents 12-19 years of age who are obese: 18% (2007-2008)

Source: Prevalence of Obesity Among Children and Adolescents: United States, Trends 1963-1965 Through 2007-2008, table 1

• Percent of adolescents 12-17 years of age who smoked cigarettes in the past month: 8.9% (2009)
• Percent of adolescents 12-17 years of age who used alcohol in the past month: 14.7% (2009)

Source: Health, United States, 2011, table 64 [PDF - 9.8 MB]

 

Access to health care

• Percent of adolescents 12-17 years of age without health insurance: 9.8%
• Percent of adolescents 12-17 years of age with no usual source of health care: 6.7%

Source: Summary Health Statistics for U. S. Children: National Health Interview Survey, 2009, tables XI, XIII [PDF - 1.4 MB]

 

Mortality

• Number of deaths for adolescents 15-19 years of age: 11,520
• Deaths per 100,000 population for adolescents 15-19 years of age: 53.5

Source: Deaths: Final Data for 2009, table 3 [PDF - 2.1 MB]

• Leading causes of deaths among adolescents 15-19 years of age:
  • Accidents (unintentional injuries)
  • Homicide
  • Suicide

Source: Deaths: Leading Causes for 2008, table 1 [PDF - 2.8 MB]

 

More data

• Adolescent Health in the United States, 2007 [PDF - 1.5 MB]
• America’s Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being
• Educating teenagers about sex in the United States
• Health Data Interactive
• Health, United States, trend tables with data on child and adolescent health
• Key Statistics from the National Survey of Family Growth (from A to Z)
• Smoking, alcohol use, and illicit drug use reported by adolescents aged 12-17 years: United States, 1999-2004 [PDF - 444 KB]
• Teen births
• Use of Mental Health Services in the Past 12 Months by Children Aged 4-17 Years: United States, 2005-2006 [PDF - 806 KB]