New research on the significant increase in orphanhood in the U.S. in the last two decades

21 February 2025

Dr Juliette Unwin was part of the research team whose paper, 'Orphanhood and caregiver death among children in the United States by all-cause mortality, 2000–2021', was published in Nature Medicine.

The research estimates that in 2021, 2.9 million children in the United States, or 4.2% of all U.S. children, had experienced the death of at least one parent or a grandparent caregiver responsible for most of the basic needs of the child. The study also estimates that there was a 56% increase in the number of children affected by orphanhood and caregiver death in the U.S. between 2000 and 2021.

Drug overdose has been the leading cause of orphanhood incidence since 2020, surpassing COVID-19, with orphanhood rate particularly escalating from 2020-2021, where the opioid epidemic and COVID-19 pandemic intersected.

Dr Unwin states that "COVID-19 was not the only major cause of death during the pandemic. We need to focus on developing sustainable policies to help children who lost parents and caregivers due to all causes."

Huge congratulations to Dr Unwin for her work on this publication. Read the full paper on the Nature Medicine website.