Disease burden of injuries in children aged 0-14-year-old in 1990 and 2013, in China

Abstract

Objective: To analyze the disease burden of injuries in Chinese children aged between 0-14-year-old, in 1990 and 2013. Methods: Data derived from the Global Burden of Disease 2013 was used to analyze the disease burden of injuries among children aged between 0-14-year-old in each province of China, using relevant indicators including mortality and the rate on disability-adjusted life years (DALY). Results: In 2013, the number of deaths, rates on mortality and DALY caused by injuries in children aged between 0-14-year-old were 73 766, 29.46 per 100 000 and 2 449.36 per 100 000, respectively. Each indicator of injury burden appeared higher in boys than that in girls. With the increase of age, burden caused by injuries in each age group showed a decreasing trend. Provinces and autonomous regions as Xinjiang, Tibet, Gansu, Qinghai and Ningxia ranked the top 5 regions on both mortality rate and DALY rate among children aged between 0-14-year-old. The top 3 injury-related mortality rates and rate on DALY were drowning, road traffic injury and exposure to mechanic forces, among children. Compared to the disease burden of injuries in the 1990s, all indicators showed decreasing trends in children aged between 0-14-year-old, with girls more than boys, and variations in different age groups. In all areas of China, improvements were seen on intervention programs related to the injury-caused burden among children aged between 0-14-year-old, except for Ningxia, Yunnan and Chongqing. Conclusions: During the last two decades, there had been significant improvements in reducing the injury-caused burden among the Chinese children aged between 0-14-year-old. However, injury is still the most important risk on health of children under 4-year-old, with boys in particular. Drowning and road traffic injury were the two leading causes of death in children aged between 1 and 14-year-old.