External-cause mortality among adolescents and young adults in Greece over the millennium's first decade 2000-09

Several important socio-behavioral public health problems that either peak or start during the second decade of life contribute to young people's mortality. The aim of this study was to explore patterns, rates, trends and regional variations of external-cause (due to environmental events/circumstances) mortality among young people aged 10-24 years in Greece, over the decade 2000-09.

Data were electronically derived from the database of the Hellenic Statistical Authority to study general and specific mortality rates by major causes of death.

Road traffic crashes (RTCs), illicit drug use and suicide accounted for 65.8, 14.7 and 4.8%, of total external-cause mortality, respectively. Mortality rates (deaths per 100 000) did not exhibit intra-country variability, were higher in young adults than in adolescents, in males than in females and decreased by 39%, from 33.6 in 2000 to 20.4 in 2009 (P < 0.001), due to declines in mortality from RTCs (from 21.3 to 14.3; P = 0.001), substance abuse (from 5.1 to 2.1; P = 0.003) and suicides (from 2.0 to 0.9; P = 0.003).

External causes of young people's mortality were mainly psychosocial and behavioral in origin. Despite improvement over the decade, young people in Greece still have unmet health-care needs and may further benefit from a multipronged public health approach through improved youth-friendly health services.