Substantial progress in reducing drowning and motor vehicle crash deaths, and meeting the target for fire-related deaths, contributed to this success. When comparing the overall mortality rates for infants and children from the inception of the initiative in 1979 to these new data, the improvement is dramatic, with a drop of 50 percent for infants and 40 percent for children. However, hospitalization for asthma in children has been on the rise most of the past decade and is a major cause of morbidity. Since the inception of the Healthy People initiative 20 years ago the mortality rate for adolescents and young adults has dropped 26 percent. Alcohol-related motor vehicle crash deaths and suicides are down, helping to meet the objective.
Students are now also less likely to engage in such risky behaviors as fighting and weapon carrying.
On the other hand, after declining somewhat, heavy drinking among high school seniors has increased recently and there has been little progress on reducing heavy drinking among college students. The death rate for the 25-64 age group has declined steadily and is near the year 2000 target. Since the beginning of the initiative in 1979, the mortality rate has dropped 31 percent for this age group. Cancer death rates are now below the year 2000 target due in great part to the drop in breast cancer and colorectal cancer death rates as well as the slowing of the rise in lung cancer death rates. As Americans live longer, however, more people over 70 years of age are having difficulty performing critical functions, such as dressing, bathing or getting out of bed.