Skip to main content

Economic Burden of Youth Violence Reached $122 Billion in 2020

Medically reviewed by Drugs.com.

By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, Sept. 18, 2023 -- The economic burden of youth violence reached $122 billion in 2020 and was dominated by homicides, according to a research letter published online Sept. 18 in JAMA Pediatrics.

Cora Peterson, Ph.D., from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, and colleagues reported the annual economic burden of youth violence injuries using national data. The number of homicides and nonfatal assault injury emergency department visits among youths aged 10 to 24 years and the economic cost of medical care spending, lost work productivity, reduced quality of life from injury morbidity, and avoidable mortality during 2015 to 2020 was examined using the publicly available Web-Based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System Cost of Injury website.

The researchers found that during 2015 to 2019, the annual economic burden of youth violence injuries was $105 to $115 billion and reached $122 billion in 2020. There was a decreasing number of nonfatal assault injury emergency department visits and associated nonfatal economic burden during 2015 to 2019, but due to a persistently high number of homicides, the total annual economic burden remained similar. The total annual economic burden of youth violence was 17 percent higher in 2020 than in 2019 due to a 36 percent increase in youth homicides, despite the lowest annual number of nonfatal assault injury emergency department visits.

"Highlighting the economic burden of youth violence is essential to inform decision-making about the value of targeted prevention strategies," the authors write.

Abstract/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)

Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

© 2024 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Posted September 2023

Read this next

AI-Assisted Contours Superior to Cognitively Defined Prostate Cancer Contours

WEDNESDAY, July 3, 2024 -- Artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted definition of prostate cancer contours reduces underestimation of the extent of prostate cancer, according to a...

Mean Cost of Bringing New Drug to U.S. Market Is $879.3 Million

TUESDAY, July 2, 2024 -- The mean cost of developing a new drug for the U.S. market is estimated to be $879.3 million when both drug development failure and capital costs are...

Patient–Primary Care Provider Language Concordance Tied to Better Outcomes

TUESDAY, July 2, 2024 -- Patient-family physician language concordance is associated with a lower risk for adverse outcomes, according to a study published online June 3...

More news resources

Subscribe to our newsletter

Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.