Early-life mortality linked to family structure

A new study from researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Carolina Population Centre found that the risk of dying between the ages of 1 and 24 is substantially higher for children whose parents have lower levels of education, lower levels of income, or for those who live in a single-parent family. 

The study, published recently in the Maternal and Child Health Journal, used survey data on more than 350,000 children. Compared to children and youth living with mothers who earned college degrees, those living with mothers who attended but did not graduate from college, finished high school, or never graduated high school, experience 28 to 40 percent higher risk of early-life death over the follow-up period. 

The largest increases in the risk of dying young (40-48 percent) are associated with being raised by only one parent. The findings provide crucial information that can help improve the overall mortality rate.