Injury Mortality among Non-US Residents in the United States 1979–1984

Abstract

More than 20 million non-US residents visit the United States each year. Data on deaths in this country among these non-US residents were obtained from US vital records. These data showed that from 1979 through 1984, 17,988 deaths occurred. Cardiovascular disease (International Classification of Diseases [ICD-9] 390-459) was the leading cause of death among non-residents. Injuries (ICD-9 E800-E999) ranked second as a cause of death and accounted for 23% of the deaths (4078). More than half of these injury deaths occurred among people aged 15-34 years and 79% of the people who died from injuries were males. The most frequent causes of injury deaths were motor vehicle traffic crashes (37%), drownings (15%), and homicides (11%). Although general patterns of injury mortality among non-US residents and US residents were similar, there were differences in the proportion of deaths due to homicides, drownings, and falls. Prevention efforts targeted to the major causes of injury mortality in the US will affect both US and non-US residents.