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Issue: August 2015
July 17, 2015
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National health report: Preterm birth rate declines, teen depression rises

Issue: August 2015
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The NIH’s America’s Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being, 2015 report, an annual compendium of health statistics, showed a decrease in the preterm birth rate and an increase in teenage depression risks, among other notable trends.

“The report continues to present key indicators in seven domains: family and social environment; economic circumstances; health care; physical environment and safety; behavior; education; and health,” Katherine K. Wallman, chief statistician at the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, wrote in the report. “These indicators are drawn from our most reliable federal statistics, are easily understood by broad audiences, are objectively based on substantial research, [and] are balanced so that no single area of children’s lives dominates the report.”

The report found that the percentage of infants born preterm declined for the seventh consecutive year from 11.5% in 2012 to 11.4% in 2013. The percentage of infants born with low birthweight was 8% in 2013, down from 8.3% in 2006.

There was a statistically significant increase in adolescent depression, with 11% of teenagers aged 12 to 17 experiencing a major depressive episode, compared with 9% in 2004, the report said. However, the percentage of children who received treatment for such events declined, from 40% in 2004 to 38% in 2013. The report defined a major depressive episode as a period of 2 weeks where a person experienced a depressed mood, coupled with four other symptoms of depression.

Other trends in the report cited:

  • a decrease in the overall population of children, from 23.3% in 2013 to 23.1% in 2014;
  • a record low for the teenage birth rate of 12 per every 1,000 adolescents, aged 15 to 17 years;
  • the percentage of children aged younger than 17 years with asthma declined to 8% in 2013;
  • the percentage of children aged 4 to 11 exposed to secondhand smoke in 2011-2012 declined to 40% from 85% in 1988-1994;
  • the percentage of children living in counties with pollutant levels above the federal limit fell from 68% in 2012 to 50% in 2013; and
  • the percentage of children delayed in receiving or unable to receive medical care declined from 6% in 2002 to 4% in 2013.
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