Are US kids more likely to die compare to their peers?

US Kids Far More Likely to Die Young Than Peers: Study

American children have a “70 percent greater chance of dying before adulthood than kids born into other wealthy, democratic countries,” writes Sarah Kliff for Vox, citing a new study.

The 20-country study “shows that the United States lags far behind peer countries on child health outcomes. It estimates that, since 1961, America’s poor performance accounts for more than 600,000 excess child deaths—deaths that wouldn’t have happened if these kids were born into other wealthy countries.”

Why? Kliff points to at least three possibilities noted by researchers, including America’s fragmented health system, a high gun homicide rate, and a “rise in childhood poverty in the 1980s that coincided with the United States falling behind its peer countries on health outcomes.”

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