WEDNESDAY, May 6, 2026 (HealthDay News) -- Fathers' deaths in the first five years of their child's life are mostly preventable and due to nonnatural causes, according to a research letter published online May 4 in JAMA Pediatrics.
Craig F. Garfield, M.D., from the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, and colleagues investigated implications of paternal loss for a family, with a focus on when and how fathers die. The analysis included data from the Georgia Vital Events Registration System, including births recorded in 2017 that were matched to death certificates (2017 through 2022).
The researchers identified 796 fathers who died during the first five years of their child's life; 37.2 percent were from natural causes and 60.3 percent were from preventable causes, including homicide (143 deaths), unintentional causes (142), suicide (102), and drug overdose (93). Among deceased fathers, nonnatural causes of death occurred more often at younger ages. Higher educational level was associated with a lower risk for unintentional death and homicide (adjusted odds ratios [aORs], 0.30 and 0.36, respectively). Non-Hispanic Black fathers had higher odds of homicide (aOR, 3.14) but lower odds of drug overdose and suicide (aORs, 0.27 and 0.37, respectively). Among Hispanic fathers, odds were lower for homicide (aOR, 0.16), drug overdose (aOR, 0.13), and suicide (aOR, 0.24). Being unmarried was associated with increased odds of homicide (aOR, 2.87).
"Maternal Mortality Review Committees (MMRCs) provide necessary systematic infrastructure, yet no equivalent system exists to track paternal health, despite loss of a father during childhood constituting an adverse childhood experience," the authors write. "Integrating fathers into existing MMRC processes could yield more comprehensive understanding of family health dynamics and needs."
