Socioeconomic status, gender, and burn injury: A retrospective review

Abstract

Burn injury rates appear to be influenced by socioeconomic status (SES) and gender globally, but the impact of poverty and gender on burn injury has not been studied in a developed country. This study was a retrospective chart review conducted at a regional burn center in the Southwest US that included 340 patients with TBSA burns >15%. SES was determined using zip code and US census data. The distribution of mechanism of injury was significantly different by gender (χ2(6) = 36.14, p < 0001), but not significantly different by SES (χ2(12) = 19.68, p = 0.073). Burn rates in women was found to have a significant and linear increase (χ2 = 13.8513, p = 0.001) with increasing poverty. Women had higher frequencies of being burned at home, and men had higher frequencies of being burned at work. While poverty did not appear to increase the risk of burn injury overall in a mixed population, it was associated with a significant increase in the risk of burn injury in women. Thus, strategies for decreasing risk factors should be targeted toward low SES females and the working male.