Suicide leading cause of death among India’s young, says Lancet report

According to Census 2011, there are 364.66 million youngsters in the 10-24 age group, making up 30.11 per cent of the country’s total population.

4 min readChakan (pune), PuneUpdated: May 10, 2016 07:23 AM IST

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Road accidents (41,168 deaths) and tuberculosis (32,171) were the other big killers, together claiming 73,359 young lives in 2013, said the report. (Illustration: C R Sasikumar)

Suicide was the leading cause of death among youngsters aged 10-24 in the country, with 62,960 such deaths reported in 2013, according to the findings of the Lancet Commission on Adolescent Health and Well-being that is being launched in London on Tuesday. Road accidents (41,168 deaths) and tuberculosis (32,171) were the other big killers, together claiming 73,359 young lives in 2013, said the report. Globally, too, accidents, self-harm (suicides), violence, and tuberculosis accounted for most deaths in this age-group.

The Commission studied three age groups — 10-14, 15-19 and 20-24 — to find that in India, suicides were the leading cause of death in the second and third age groups and the seventh cause of death in the youngest age group (3,594 deaths). In absolute numbers, in 2013, 3,594 adolescents in the 10-14 age group killed themselves in India, 23,748 did so in the 15-19 age group and 35,618 in the 20-24 age group.

According to Census 2011, there are 364.66 million youngsters in the 10-24 age group, making up 30.11 per cent of the country’s total population.

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For the youngest group (10-14), intestinal infectious diseases claimed most lives (11,668), followed by diarrhoeal diseases (7,375). Lower respiratory infections, drowning, malaria, TB, encephalitis and ‘animal contact’ were the other top killers in this age group. The fact that suicides were a leading cause of death even in this age group suggests that mental health is a growing epidemic across age groups.

Road injuries were the second leading cause of death in the 20-24 age group (23,658 deaths) and those between 15 and 19 (13,479 deaths). It was also the sixth leading cause of death in the 10-14 year age group (with 4,031 deaths).

According to the report, suicides, road injuries, TB and depressive disorders were among the top four risk factors for “health loss” among youngsters in the country. This fits in with the global pattern, where mental health disorders and road injuries are the major contributors to health loss. ‘Health loss’ is measured in \terms of ‘disability adjusted life years’ or the proportion of healthy life lost due to illness.

In India, 28.65 lakh youngsters (in the age group 10-24) have suffered health loss due to depressive disorders, the report said.

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“Adolescents today face new challenges, including rising levels of obesity, mental health disorders and high unemployment,” Dr Vikram Patel, professor of International Mental Health at London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK, and among the expert researchers of the Lancet report, told The Indian Express.

The Commission’s lead author, George Patton, professor at the University of Melbourne, Australia, said the findings should be a “wake-up call for new investment in the largest generation of adolescents in the world’s history (1.8 billion)”.

Adolescents aged 10-24 years represent over a quarter of the world population (1.8 billion), 89% of whom live in developing countries. Their number is set to rise to about 2 billion by 2032.

The report said that most health problems and lifestyle risk factors for disease in later years emerge during these formative years but because adolescence is “generally thought to be the healthiest” phase of life, young people have attracted too few resources. Adolescents aged 10-24 years have the poorest health-care coverage among any age group, the report further said.

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The authors used data from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD), 2013, to study levels, patterns, and trends in ill-health, disability, and death among young people in 188 countries. The Global Burden of Disease project is an international collaboration involving more than 1,500 researchers in more than 110 countries, coordinated by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington.

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Anuradha Mascarenhas

Anuradha Mascarenhas is a Senior Editor at The Indian Express, based in Pune. With a career spanning three decades, she is one of the most respected voices in Indian journalism regarding healthcare, science and environment and research developments. She also takes a keen interest in covering women's issues . Professional Background Education: A gold medalist in Communication and Journalism from Savitribai Phule Pune University and a Master’s degree in Literature. Author: She authored the biography At The Wheel Of Research, which chronicles the life and work of Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, the former Chief Scientist at the WHO. Key Focus: She combines scientific accuracy with storytelling, translating complex medical research into compelling public and human-interest narratives. Awards and Recognition Anuradha has won several awards including the Press Council of India's national award for excellence in journalism under the gender based reporting category in 2019 and the Laadli Media award (gender sensitivity -2024). A recipient of the Lokmat journalism award (gender category-2022), she was also shortlisted for the RedInk awards for excellence in journalism-2021. Her debut book At The Wheel Of Research, an exclusive biography of Dr Soumya Swaminathan the inaugural chief scientist of World Health Organisation was also nominated in the Popular Choice Category of JK Paper AUTHER awards. She has also secured competitive fellowships including the Laadli Media Fellowship (2022), the Survivors Against TB – New Research in TB Media Fellowship (2023) and is part of the prestigious 2025 India Cohort of the WomenLift Health Leadership Journey.” Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) 1. Cancer & Specialized Medical Care "Tata Memorial finds way to kill drug-resistant cancer cells" (Nov 26, 2025): Reporting on a breakthrough for triple-negative breast cancer, one of the most aggressive forms of the disease. Discipline, diet and purpose; How a 97-year-old professor defies ageing'' (Nov 15, 2025) Report about Prof Gururaj Mutalik, the first Head of Department at Pune's B J Government Medical College who at 97 credits his longevity to healthy habits and a strong sense of purpose. 2. Environmental Health (The "Breathless Pune" Series) Long-term exposure even to 'moderate' air leads to chronic heart, lung, kidney issues" (Nov 26, 2025): Part of an investigative series highlighting that even "safe" pollution levels are damaging to vital organs. "For every 10 µg/m3 increase in PM2.5 level, there was 6-8% jump in medicine sales" (Nov 23, 2025): Using commercial data to prove the direct link between air quality and respiratory illnesses in Pune. 3. Lifestyle & Wellness News "They didn't let cancer, diabetes and heart disease stop them from travelling" (Dec 22, 2025): A collaborative piece featuring survivors who share practical tips for traveling with chronic conditions. At 17, his BP shot up to 200/120 mmHG; Lancet study flags why child and teen hypertension doubled between 2000 and 2020'' (Nov 12,2025)--A report that focusses on 17-year-old-boy's hypertensive crisis and reflects the rising global trend of high blood pressure among children and adolescents. 4. Scientific Recognition & Infrastructure For promoting sci-comm, gender diversity: IUCAA woman prof highlighted in Nature" (Nov 25, 2025): Covering the global recognition of Indian women scientists in gender studies and physics. Pune researchers find a spiral galaxy like the Milky Way from early universe'' (December 3, 2025)- A report on how Indian researchers discovered a massive galaxy that existed when the universe was just 1.5 billion years old , one of the earliest to have been observed so far. Signature Beat: Health, Science & Women in Leadership Anuradha is known for her COVID-19 reportage, where she was one of the first journalists to provide detailed insights into the Covishield and Covaxin trials. She has a dedicated interest in gender diversity in health and science, often profiling women researchers who are breaking the "leaky pipeline" in STEM fields. Her writing style is scrupulous, often featuring interviews with top-tier scientists and health experts from various institutions. ... Read More

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