Increases in age-group-specific injury mortality--United States, 1999-2004

From 1979 to 1999, total injury mortality rates declined overall in the United States, despite increases in suicide rates in the late 1980s and in homicide rates in the early 1990s (CDC, unpublished data, 2007). From 1999 to 2004, however, total injury mortality rates increased 5.5%, from 53.3 to 56.2 per 100,000 population, the first sustained increase in 25 years. To assess this increase, CDC analyzed the most recent data from the National Vital Statistics System (NVSS). This report summarizes the results of that analysis, which determined that U.S. mortality rates increased from 1999 to 2004 for unintentional injuries, suicides, and injuries of undetermined intent; homicide rates were stable. Among persons aged 45-54 years, the total injury mortality rate increased 24.5%, including an 87.0% increase in the mortality rate from unintentional poisoning (most commonly drug poisoning) and a 48.0% increase in suicide by hanging/suffocation. Among persons aged 20-29 years, the total injury mortality rate increased 7.7%, including a 92.5% increase in the death rate from unintentional poisoning and a 31.7% increase in suicide by hanging/suffocation. Parallel increases in multiple categories and mechanisms of injuries within these two age groups suggest an increase in one or more shared risk factors (e.g., drug abuse); prevention programs that focus on shared risk factors might help reduce deaths from injuries.     

Unintentional injury mortality in India, 2005: Nationally representative mortality survey of 1.1 million homes

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Unintentional injuries are an important cause of death in India. However, no reliable nationally representative estimates of unintentional injury deaths are available. Thus, we examined unintentional injury deaths in a nationally representative mortality survey. METHODS: Trained field staff interviewed a living relative of those who had died during 2001-03. The verbal autopsy reports were sent to two of the130 trained physicians, who independently assigned an ICD-10 code to each death. Discrepancies were resolved through reconciliation and adjudication. Proportionate cause specific mortality was used to produce national unintentional injury mortality estimates based on United Nations population and death estimates. RESULTS: In 2005, unintentional injury caused 648 000 deaths (7% of all deaths; 58/100 000 population). Unintentional injury mortality rates were higher among males than females, and in rural versus urban areas. Road traffic injuries (185 000 deaths; 29% of all unintentional injury deaths), falls (160 000 deaths, 25%) and drowning (73 000 deaths, 11%) were the three leading causes of unintentional injury mortality, with fire-related injury causing 5% of these deaths. The highest unintentional mortality rates were in those aged 70 years or older (410/100 000). CONCLUSIONS: These direct estimates of unintentional injury deaths in India (0.6 million) are lower than WHO indirect estimates (0.8 million), but double the estimates which rely on police reports (0.3 million). Importantly, they revise upward the mortality due to falls, particularly in the elderly, and revise downward mortality due to fires. Ongoing monitoring of injury mortality will enable development of evidence based injury prevention programs.     

Unintentional gun injuries,firearm design,and prevention: What we know,what we need to know,and what can be done

The public health community has long recognized unintentional gun injuries as a public health issue. In 1998 in the United States, 866 people died from unintentional gunshot wounds, resulting in a crude death rate of 0.32 per 100,000. Unintentional gun deaths have been declining since at least 1920, yet the reasons for this downward trend are not understood. Possible explanations, such as changes in gun ownership and demography, changes in access to guns among population subgroups, safety practices, and artifactual influences are discussed. Intervention strategies for reducing the risk of unintentional gun injury are also discussed.     

Drowning--United States, 2005-2009

Drowning is a leading cause of unintentional injury death worldwide, and the highest rates are among children. Overall, drowning death rates in the United States have declined in the last decade; however, drowning is the leading cause of injury death among children aged 1-4 years. In 2001, approximately 3,300 persons died from unintentional drowning in recreational water settings, and an estimated 5,600 were treated in emergency departments (EDs). To update information on the incidence and characteristics of fatal and nonfatal unintentional drowning in the United States, CDC analyzed death certificate data from the National Vital Statistics System and injury data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System--All Injury Program (NEISS-AIP) for 2005-2009. The results indicated that each year an average of 3,880 persons were victims of fatal drowning and an estimated 5,789 persons were treated in U.S. hospital EDs for nonfatal drowning. Death rates and nonfatal injury rates were highest among children aged ≤4 years; these children most commonly drowned in swimming pools. The drowning death rate among males (2.07 per 100,000 population) was approximately four times that for females (0.54). To prevent drowning, all parents and children should learn survival swimming skills. In addition, 1) environmental protections (e.g., isolation pool fences and lifeguards) should be in place; 2) alcohol use should be avoided while swimming, boating, water skiing, or supervising children; 3) lifejackets should be used by all boaters and weaker swimmers; and 4) all caregivers and supervisors should have training in cardiopulmonary resuscitation.     

Urban-Rural Disparities in Injury Mortality in China, 2006

Context: Urban-rural disparity is an important issue for injury control in China. Details of the urban-rural disparities in fatal injuries have not been analyzed.
Purpose: To target key injury causes that most contribute to the urban-rural disparity, we decomposed total urban-rural differences in 2006 injury mortality by gender, age, and cause.
Methods: Mortality data came from the Chinese Vital Registration data, covering a sample of about 10% of the total population. The chi-square test was used to test the significance of urban-rural disparities.
Findings: For all ages combined, the injury death rate for males was 60.1/100,000 in rural areas compared with 40.9 in urban areas; for females, the respective rates were 31.5 and 23.6/100,000. The greatest disparity was at age <1 year for both sexes, where the rate from unintentional suffocation in rural areas was more than twice the urban rate. The higher mortality from drowning among males of all ages and among females ages 1-24 and 35+ contributed substantially to the age-specific urban-rural disparities. For both sexes, transportation incidents and suicide were the most important contributors to higher rates among rural residents ages 15+.
Conclusions: Unintentional suffocation, drowning, transportation incidents, and suicide not only are the major causes of injury death, but also play a key role in explaining the urban-rural disparities in fatal injuries. Further research is needed to identify factors leading to higher rural death rates and to explore economical and feasible interventions for reducing injuries and narrowing the urban-rural gap in injury mortality.     

A comparison of injury death rates in China and the United States, 1986.

BACKGROUND: The importance of injury as a public health problem is not well recognized in many developing countries. Data have recently become available on injury mortality in China. METHOD: We compared Chinese injury data based on a 100 million population segment for 1986 with data for the United States. RESULTS: The age-adjusted death rate from all injuries for China exceeds the rate for the US (69.0 vs 61.3 per 100,000). The US has higher death rates from motor vehicle crashes, fires, and homicide; China has greater mortality from drowning, poisoning, falls, and suicide. Especially noteworthy in China are the high drowning rates among young children and the elderly and the high suicide rates in rural areas among young adults and the elderly. CONCLUSION: Injury is an important public health problem in China, exceeding in many respects the problem in the United States. It is urgent for China to place high priority on injury research and prevention.     

The injury mortality burden in Guinea

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: The injury mortality burden of Guinea has been rarely addressed. The paper aimed to report patterns of injury mortality burden in Guinea. METHODS: We retrieved the mortality data from the Guinean Annual Health Statistics Report 2007. The information about underlying cause of deaths was collected based on Guinean hospital discharge data, Hospital Mortuary and City Council Mortuary data. The causes of death are coded in the 9th International Classification of Diseases (ICD-9). Multivariate Poisson regression was used to test the impacts of sex and age on mortality rates. The statistical analyses were performed using Statatm 10.0. RESULTS: In 2007, 7066 persons were reported dying of injuries in Guinea (mortality: 72.8 per 100,000 population). Transportation, fire/burn, falls, homicide and drowning were the five leading causes of fatal injuries for the whole population, accounting for 37%, 22%, 12%, 10% and 6% of total deaths, respectively. In general, age-specific injury causes displayed similar patterns of the whole population except that poisoning replaced falls as a leading cause among children under five years old. Males were at 30-50% more risk of dying from six commonest causes than females and old age groups had higher injury mortality rates than younger age groups. CONCLUSION: Transportation, fire/burn, falls, homicide, and drowning accounted for the majority of total injury mortality burden in Guinea. Males and old adults were high-risk population of fatal injuries and should be targeted by injury prevention. Lots of work is needed to improve weak capacities for injury control in order to reduce the injury mortality burden.     

Fatal Unintentional Injuries Among Kentucky Farm Children: 1979 to 1985*

ABSTRACT: The hazards of farming among adults have been well described, but less has been published regarding the nature of farm injuries among children. Fatal farm injuries in Kentucky among children under 14 years of age usually have involved agricultural equipment, primarily tractors. The average annual age specific rates for fatal injuries in Kentucky among farm children ranged from 14.8 per 100,000 to 28.5 per 100,000 for boys, and from 11.8 per 100,000 to 3.1 per 100,000 for girls. Many of these deaths could have been prevented by not allowing children to ride on tractors, or by using infant and child restraints in motor vehicles. In the older age group (10 to 14 years of age), many deaths were due to drowning, so drowning prevention programs could reduce the number of fatal injuries. Exposure to environmental hazards differ for farm children and prevention programs in this population need to target those special hazards.     

Childhood injury deaths: national analysis and geographic variations.

Twenty-three causes of injury mortality in children ages 0-14 in the United States were analyzed by age, race, sex, and state of residence for the years 1980-85. Motor vehicles caused 37 per cent of all injury-related deaths and were the leading cause of injury mortality in every group except children younger than one year, for whom homicide was the leading cause. Male death rates were at least four times female rates for suicide, unintentional firearm injury, and injuries related to farm machinery or motorcycles. The drowning rate among Whites was almost twice that of Blacks for ages 1-4, but in the 10-14 year age group the drowning rate for Blacks was over three times that of Whites. In general, the highest injury death rates were in the mountain states and the south. Between 1980 and 1985, the suicide rate in the 10-14 year age group more than doubled.     

State-specific unintentional-injury deaths--United States, 1999-2004

Deaths from unintentional injuries account for approximately two thirds of deaths from all injuries in the United States. Among persons aged 1-44 years, unintentional injuries are the leading cause of death and the leading cause of potential years of life lost before age 65 years. A Healthy People 2010 national objective calls for reducing the rate of deaths caused by unintentional injuries to 17.5 per 100,000 population from a baseline of 35.0 in 1998 (objective 15-13). A second objective calls for reducing the rate of deaths caused by unintentional injuries involving motor-vehicle traffic to 9.2 per 100,000 population from a 1998 baseline of 15.6 (objective 15-15). To determine the progress of states toward meeting these objectives, CDC analyzed vital statistics data for the period 1999-2004. This report summarizes the results of that analysis, which determined that, as of 2004, none of the states had achieved the first Healthy People 2010 objective, and four states and the District of Columbia (DC) had achieved the second. From 1999 to 2004, a total of 13 states reduced their unintentional-injury death rates, and 19 states reduced their motor-vehicle--traffic death rates. Overall in the United States, the rate of deaths caused by unintentional injuries increased 7%, from 35.3 per 100,000 population in 1999 to 37.7 in 2004. These findings underscore the need for states to continue to develop, implement, and evaluate injury-prevention programs and policies to reduce the number of deaths from unintentional injuries.     

At risk in two worlds: Injury mortality among Indigenous people in the US and Australia, 1990–92

This paper outlines the commonalties and unique differences in injury experience among the Indigenous people in the United States and Australia. Injury mortality rates among Indigenous people in the United States and Australia are approximately 2–3 times greater than rates for the non-Indigenous population in each country. Motor vehicle-related injuries accounted for one-third of the injury deaths for Native Americans and Australian Aboriginals. Suicide accounted for more deaths in Native Americans (15.5 per 100,000) than it did for Australian Aboriginals (11.1 per 100,000), whereas the injury death rate in Australian Aboriginals due to poisoning was almost twice that of Native Americans. Culturally appropriate interventions tailored to specific local settings and problems will be necessary to reduce injury mortality among Indigenous people.     

Nonfatal and fatal drownings in recreational water settings--United States, 2001-2002

Drowning is the seventh leading cause of unintentional injury deaths for all ages and the second leading cause of all injury deaths in children aged 1-14 years. Many of these injuries occur in recreational water settings, including pools, spas/hot tubs, and natural water settings (e.g., lakes, rivers, or oceans). To examine the incidence and characteristics of nonfatal and fatal unintentional drownings in recreational water settings, CDC analyzed 2001-2002 data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System All Injury Program (NEISS-AIP) and National Vital Statistics System (NVSS) death certificate data from 2001. This report summarizes that analysis, which indicated that, during 2001-2002, an estimated 4,174 persons on average per year were treated in U.S. hospital emergency departments (EDs) for nonfatal unintentional drowning injuries in recreational water settings. Approximately 53% of persons required hospitalization or transfer for more specialized care. During 2001, a total of 3,372 persons suffered fatal unintentional drownings in recreational settings. Nonfatal and fatal injury rates were highest for children aged < or =4 years and for males of all ages. To reduce the number of drownings, environmental protections (e.g., isolation pool-fences and lifeguards) should be adopted; alcohol use should be avoided while swimming, boating, or water skiing or while supervising children; and all participants, caregivers, and supervisors should be knowledgeable regarding water-safety skills and be trained in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).     

2004-2005年山东省0-14岁儿童伤害死亡流行病学分析

[目的]通过对0～14岁儿童死亡资料的分析,掌握山东省儿童伤害的死亡特点,为制定干预政策提供依据。[方法]利用山东省第三次死因调查资料,对山东省2004-2005年0～14岁儿童伤害的死亡特点进行描述和分析。[结果]2004-2005年山东省0～14岁儿童伤害的死亡率为16．09／10万,标化死亡率为15．95／10万,意外伤害死亡率为15．19／10万,标化死亡率为14．78／10万。伤害死亡率总体趋势为随年龄增高而开始降低（P〈0．05）．前五位的死因分别为淹溺、公路交通事故、意外窒息、自杀和意外跌落。0～岁年龄组伤害的主要死因是意外窒息,1～岁年龄组伤害的主要死因是交通事故和淹溺,5～岁及以上年龄组伤害的主要死因是淹溺和交通事故。[结论]淹溺和交通事故死亡是我省伤害的最主要原因,要根据不同年龄的伤害特点,采取有针对性的预防措施,降低其发病率和死亡率。     

Injury mortality in American Indian, Hispanic, and non-Hispanic white children in New Mexico, 1958-1982

Childhood fatalities from injuries are a serious public health problem in New Mexico, a state which ranks second in the nation in injury-related mortality rates. To determine the extent of injury mortality in children in this state, and to examine time trends and differences in mortality rates in New Mexico's American Indian, Hispanic, and non-Hispanic white children aged 0-14 years, we analyzed vital records collected from 1958 to 1982. American Indian children experienced the highest mortality rates from all external causes combined. Among all three major ethnic groups, children aged 0-4 years were at the highest risk for injury fatalities. Unintentional injuries accounted for 85% of all injury-related deaths. Motor vehicle crashes and drowning were the first and second leading causes of death in all three groups, while other important causes of death included fire, choking on food or other objects, poisoning, and homicide. Although the fatality rates on most types of injuries decreased over the 25-year period, childhood fatality rates for motor vehicle crashes and homicide increased in each ethnic group. Despite the overall decrease in injury mortality rates in New Mexican children, the rates are excessively high compared to other states, especially in American Indian children.     

Unintentional injuries in the home in the United States Part II: morbidity

BACKGROUND: Homes are an important setting for nonfatal unintentional injuries. The purpose of this study was to quantify and describe nonfatal, unintentional injuries in the United States, in which the injury took place at home. METHODS: Data derived from the National Health Interview Survey, National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, and National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Surveys for Outpatient and Emergency Departments. The nonfatal unintentional home injury rate and 95% confidence interval were computed for the United States overall (1998-1999), as well as by type of injury, gender, and age group. Weights were applied for each data set as designated by the National Center for Health Statistics. RESULTS: In 1998, there were more than 12 million unintentional home injuries requiring some form of medical attention. Falls were the most common injury among all age groups, followed by cutting/piercing injuries, and injuries associated with being struck by or against an object or person. Injury rates were highest among the oldest and youngest age groups. There was inconsistency across data sets with regard to the presence of location information and definitions of the home environment, inclusion criteria, and the presence of external cause of injury and poisoning codes (E-codes). Depending on the data set, information was missing for 8% and 41% of cases on the location of injury, making it impossible to determine whether the injuries occurred in the home environment. CONCLUSIONS: Falls are a significant problem, particularly among older adults. Additionally, data collection systems need to be improved so that location of injury data are routinely collected using consistent definitions so as to allow comparisons across data sets and over time.     

The epidemiology of home injuries to children under five years in New Zealand

OBJECTIVE: This paper describes the epidemiology of injuries sustained by children under five in the home. METHODS: Cases were selected from the New Zealand Health Information Service public hospital morbidity and mortality data, and included all 0-4 year olds where the place of injury occurrence was classified as 'home'. The circumstances of injury were coded according to the Supplementary Classifications of External Causes of Injury and Poisoning (E-codes) of the International Classifications of Diseases. Age-specific rates of death or hospitalisation due to injury were calculated using the population of 0-4 year olds in New Zealand for each year as the denominator. RESULTS: The rate of death from an injury sustained at home between 1989 and 1998 was 13 per 100,000 population per year. The main causes of death were suffocation, submersion, homicide and fire. The rate of hospitalisation in children aged 0-4 years from an injury sustained in the home between 1989 and 2000 was 737 per 100,000 population per year. The most frequently recorded causes of hospitalisation were falls, scalds, poisonings and cut/piercing incidents. CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS: Although there has been an apparent decrease in the number of children hospitalised for injuries sustained in the home environment, it is not possible to determine if this is a 'real' change or a result of other factors affecting the data. While children continue to be killed and injured as a result of preventable incidents in the home environment, injury prevention strategies should be continued and strengthened.     

Leading Causes of Unintentional Injury and Suicide Mortality in Canadian Adults Across the Urban-Rural Continuum

Objective

We examined the leading causes of unintentional injury and suicide mortality in adults across the urban-rural continuum.

Methods

Injury mortality data were drawn from a representative cohort of 2,735,152 Canadians aged ≥25 years at baseline, who were followed for mortality from 1991 to 2001. We estimated hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals for urban-rural continuum and cause-specific unintentional injury (i.e., motor vehicle, falls, poisoning, drowning, suffocation, and fire/burn) and suicide (i.e., hanging, poisoning, firearm, and jumping) mortality, adjusting for socioeconomic and demographic characteristics.

Results

Rates of unintentional injury mortality were elevated in less urbanized areas for both males and females. We found an urban-rural gradient for motor vehicle, drowning, and fire/burn deaths, but not for fall, poisoning, or suffocation deaths. Urban-rural differences in suicide risk were observed for males but not females. Declining urbanization was associated with higher risks of firearm suicides and lower risks of jumping suicides, but there was no apparent trend in hanging and poisoning suicides.

Conclusion

Urban-rural gradients in adults were more pronounced for unintentional motor vehicle, drowning, and fire/burn deaths, as well as for firearm and jumping suicide deaths than for other causes of injury mortality. These results suggest that the degree of urbanization may be an important consideration in guiding prevention efforts for many causes of injury fatality.Injury is a leading cause of mortality in Canada, accounting for approximately 14,500 deaths each year.¹ Although the majority of injury deaths are unintentional (29.5 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants), intentional deaths due to suicide (11.6 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants) are also common. Research shows that adults in rural areas are disproportionately affected by injury mortality.^2–6 With populations of Western countries aging rapidly, particularly in rural areas,⁷ a better understanding of injury mortality in rural adults becomes increasingly important.Only a limited number of studies have examined the relative contribution of different unintentional and intentional causes to urban-rural differences in injury mortality, despite the potential of cause-specific data to uncover possible underlying mechanisms and pathways for prevention.^8,9 The few studies of unintentional injury that examined causes beyond motor vehicle collisions and falls were limited by dichotomous categorizations of urban and rural areas, which may decrease the ability to capture differences in injury mortality across the range of geographical areas typically present in Western countries. In fact, it has been proposed that a continuum-based approach of urban and rural areas better reflects social, economic, and geographic diversity and may enhance our understanding of health variation across areas.^2,10There is also very limited information on how method-specific suicide mortality varies across the urban-rural continuum. One study found elevated firearm suicide rates in less urbanized areas,¹¹ but data do not exist for more common causes of suicide, such as hanging or poisoning. In light of the identified research gaps, we sought to determine the relationship between the urban-rural continuum and leading causes of unintentional injury and suicide mortality in Canadian adults.     

The costs of unintentional home injuries

BACKGROUND: Unintentional home injuries impose significant, but little reported, costs to society. The most tangible are medical and indirect costs. A less-tangible cost is the value of lost quality of life due to impairment or death. METHODS: A societal perspective was adopted in estimating unintentional home injury costs. All costs associated with the injuries are included in the analysis-costs to victims, families, government, insurers, and taxpayers. The costs are incidence based, meaning all costs that will result from an injury over time are counted in the year that the injury occurs. RESULTS: Unintentional home injuries cost U.S. society at least $217 billion in 1998. The cost of fatal unintentional injuries alone was $34 billion, with nonfatal injuries accounting for the remaining $183 billion. The largest cost was the value of lost quality of life at $162 billion. Medical costs and indirect costs were $22 billion and $33 billion, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: These estimates indicate that unintentional home injuries, especially falls, are a major problem in the United States. Falls are a particular problem in need of more attention.