Adolescent Health

• Percent of adolescents ages 12–17 years who are in fair or poor health: 3.0% (2023)
• Percent of adolescents ages 12–17 years who missed 11 or more days of school in the past 12 months because of illness, injury, or disability: 8.3% (2023)

Source: Interactive Summary Health Statistics for Children: National Health Interview Survey, 2019-2023

• Percent of adolescents ages 12–19 years with obesity: 22.2% (2017-March 2020)

Source: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2017-March 2020 Prepandemic Data Files-Development of Files and Prevalence Estimates for Selected Health Outcomes, table 3 [PDF – 436 KB]

• Percent of adolescents ages 12–17 years who smoked cigarettes in the past month: 2.3% (2019)
• Percent of adolescents ages 12–17 years who used alcohol in the past month: 9.4% (2019)

Source: Health, United States, 2020-2021 Table SubUse [PDF – 9.8 MB]

• Percent of adolescents ages 12–17 years with a usual source of health care: 96.0% (2023)
• Percent of adolescents ages 12–17 years without health insurance: 4.4% (2023)

Source: Interactive Summary Health Statistics for Children: National Health Interview Survey, 2019-2023

• Number of deaths for adolescents ages 15–19 years: 12,745
• Deaths per 100,000 population for adolescents ages 15–19 years: 58.9

Source: National Vital Statistics System – Mortality data (2022) via CDC WONDER

Leading causes of deaths among adolescents ages 15–19 years:

• Accidents (unintentional injuries)
• Homicide
• Suicide

Source: National Vital Statistics System – Mortality data (2022) for via CDC WONDER

• Mortality Statistics
• National Health Interview Survey
• National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Adolescent Health
• Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System
• National Institute of Mental Health
• Office of Adolescent Health