Background and Objectives:
Until recently, mortality among children aged 5 to 14 years did not receive the same attention as that of children under 5 years, despite an estimated number of one million annual deaths in the former group. This lack of attention has resulted in an important gap in knowledge on child health. This study aimed to investigate the magnitude and trends of cause-specific mortality among children 5 to 14 years of age in the state of Rio de Janeiro (RJ) from 2000 to 2019.

Methods:
Population-based ecological study, using data from the Brazilian Mortality Information System (MIS). We calculated mortality rates per 100,000 children by chapters, groups, and categories of causes of death (ICD-10) and by age groups (5-9 and 10-14 years). Trends were estimated by Joinpoint regression.

Results:
Mortality rates among children aged 10 to 14 years were higher than those among children 5 to 9. The five leading causes of death were the same in both age groups, but they ranked differently. The two leading ones were external causes and neoplasms (31% and 15% among children aged 5 to 9 years; 45% and 11% among children aged 10 to 14 years). Among children 5 to 9 years, the mortality trend showed an 8.5% annual decline from 2011 to 2015. Among those aged 10 to 14 years, the annual decline was 1.3% from 2000 to 2019. Mortality due to external causes decreased in both age groups, except for the category “Assault by unspecified firearm” (boys, 10 to 14 years) and “Unspecified drowning and submersion” (boys, 5 to 9 years). Mortality caused by neoplasms remained steady in both age groups. Infectious and respiratory diseases decreased differently between the two groups.

Conclusion:
Most causes of death are preventable or treatable, indicating the need for health and intersectoral investments.