Millennial Women In The U.S. Are Now Facing Higher Mortality Rates Than Women Of The Same Age Group From The Past Three Generations, According To A Recent Report
Each new generation of young women in the United States experienced significant improvements in health and safety for decades. However, this positive trend has recently taken a downturn for Millennials.
This finding and more are the result of a report released by the Population Reference Bureau (PRB), a non-profit organization based in Washington, DC. The report focused on the well-being of women between the ages of 25 and 34 across different American generations.
The report revealed that women born from 1981 to 1999, commonly referred to as Millennials, are experiencing the first decline in well-being during their young adulthood since the Silent Generation.
According to the study, women in their late twenties and early thirties today face a higher risk of death compared to women in the same age group from the past three generations.
The report highlighted a significant rise in the death rate among Millennial women ages 25 to 34, coinciding with a sharp increase in maternal mortality rates. For this age group, there are 30.4 deaths due to pregnancy complications per 100,000 births.
This rate contrasts starkly with earlier generations. The Silent Generation (women born during and before World War II) had 21 deaths per 100,000 births, while baby boomers and Generation X had 7.5 and 9.2 deaths per 100,000 births, respectively, when they were in the same age range.
The report recognized that improved data collection in recent years could partly explain the increase in observed rates. However, it also pointed out that even after the adoption of a new data system by all U.S. states in 2019, the number of pregnancy-related deaths continued to climb significantly.
On top of that, Millennial women are the first in a century to face an increase in suicide rates. Among women ages 25 to 34, there are seven suicides per 100,000, according to the report.
Yet, when baby boomer and Generation X women were between the ages of 25 and 34, they experienced lower suicide rates, with six suicides per 100,000 for baby boomers and 4.4 suicides per 100,000 for Generation X women.
Yakobchuk Olena – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only, not the actual person
Although suicide rates among White Millennial women have decreased, young Black, Hispanic, American Indian or Alaskan Native, and mixed-race women have seen a rise in these rates. However, the report did not specifically provide statistics for women from other ethnic backgrounds.
The homicide rates for Millennial women have also increased to 4.5 deaths per 100,000 women, representing a slight rise from the 4.3 deaths per 100,000 experienced by Generation X women at the same age.
In 2017, when the PRB last released its index, the rate of violent deaths among young women had declined to 3.3 per 100,000. However, recent statistics indicate that this rate has surged rapidly over the past six years, now exceeding that of Generation X, according to the report.
The report noted that similar to the trends in suicide rates, young women of color experience higher homicide rates. Additionally, it highlighted that LGBTQ+ individuals face disproportionately higher rates of being targeted.
Furthermore, the researchers attributed the overall increase in these rates to several factors, including the COVID-19 pandemic, which has escalated domestic violence incidents, and a significant surge in gun violence cases.
This has resulted in homicide now being the predominant cause of death among pregnant and postnatal women, surpassing the usual causes of maternal mortality.
“Sadly, the tale of generational progress that we have taken for granted in recent generations is no longer a guarantee for Millennial and Gen Z women,” the researchers wrote.
So, despite advancements in their financial and educational achievements compared to previous generations, millennial women have experienced a decrease in safety.
The report highlighted that a record 43.6% of young Millennial women in the U.S. have completed college, surpassing the 28% of Generation X and 22% of baby boomer women who had graduated by age 34.
Additionally, young Millennial women are experiencing a narrowing wage gap, earning 89.7 cents for each dollar earned by men. This is an improvement compared to the 82.4 cents earned by Generation X women of the same age.
To read the report’s complete findings, visit the link here.
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