A new research has revealed that 97 percent of the deaths among children and young adults aged 10-24 years occurs in poor and middle-income countries.

40 percent of the deaths in this age group occur due to accidents or some sort of violence. The main focus is on diseases such as HIV/AIDS but a considerable percentage loose their lives due to violent activities.

Worldwide statistics were studied from reports during the years 2004-2006 by Dr. George Patton, of the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne, Australia, and international colleagues.

It was found that in the year 2004, 2.6 million people died between the ages of 10-24 worldwide and almost two-thirds were in Southeast Asia or Saharan Africa. These two continents make up only 42 percent of the world population in that age group.

The study further revealed that women and girls are more likely to die in this age group and fifteen percent of the deaths of females were as a result of being mothers.

Traffic accidents contributed 14 percent male deaths and 5 percent female deaths. In the African continent and South Asian region, tuberculosis and lung infections cause more deaths than HIV/AIDS.

Dr. Robert W. Blum, of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, wrote that "although adolescence is often referred to as the healthiest stage of life, [this report] makes clear that young people are at substantial risk for mortality."