Abstract
Unintentional fatal drowning among older people is an issue as lifespans lengthen and older people embrace active retirement. While pre-existing medical conditions are a known risk factor for drowning among this age group, less is known about the role of alcohol and drugs. This 15-year (1 July 2002 to 30 June 2017) Australian study used coronial data to investigate the impact on older people (aged 65 years and older) of the obtundent effects of prescribed drugs which had been ingested by those with a positive blood alcohol concentration (BAC). Of the closed coronial cases with toxicological information (N = 471), one quarter (24.6%; N = 116) had consumed alcohol prior to drowning (one in seven BAC ≥ 0.05%), of which a third also had obtundent drugs present (33.6%; N = 39). Rivers/creeks/streams and swimming pools were the locations with the highest number of drowning deaths. Bathtubs (36.8%) and rivers/creeks/streams (17.9%) recorded the highest proportion of cases with victims having a BAC ≥ 0.05%. Bathtubs (13.2%), lakes (7.0%), and rivers/creeks/streams (6.8%) recorded the highest proportion of drowning cases with obtundent drug involvement. Obtundent drug involvement was significantly more likely for activities where the person who drowned was alone (i.e., unknown activity) (X2 = 6.8; p = 0.009). Common obtundent drugs included Diazepam, Tempazepam, and Codeine. Advocacy to prevent drowning in older people is a complex challenge, due to the myriad of locations where drowning occurs, the consumption of alcohol, and polypharmacy required for treating illness and maintaining good health.
Highlights
Drowning has been defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a threat to global public health, estimated to claim the lives of 372,000 people annually [1]
This paper aims to describe the association between alcohol, drugs, and fatal unintentional drowning in Australian seniors over a
All unintentional drowning deaths in Australia of people aged 65 years and older were extracted from the Royal Life Saving National (Australian) Fatal Drowning Database, which draws data from the National (Australian) Coronial Information System (NCIS) [20]
Summary
Drowning has been defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a threat to global public health, estimated to claim the lives of 372,000 people annually [1]. In Australia, an average of people die from unintentional drowning each year [4], a reduction on the annual average of 290 between July 2002 and June 2006 [5]. Such reductions in drowning rates in Australia have largely been seen among children under the age of five [6] due to improved pool fencing requirements [6,7,8] and increased awareness of the need for active adult supervision of children [9,10]. In Australia, Safety 2019, 5, 8; doi:10.3390/safety5010008 www.mdpi.com/journal/safety
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
