Trend of mortality rate due to drowning in Iran (2013–2018)

Abstract

Background and Objectives: According to the World Health Organization, drowning is the 3rd leading cause of unintentional injury-related deaths worldwide, accounting for 360,000 annual deaths and 7% of all injury-related deaths. Low- and middle-income countries are the most affected, accounting for 90% of unintentional drowning deaths. This study aimed to calculate the rate of drowning mortality rate and to investigate its trend in Iran. Materials and Methods: Information on death due to drowning in Iran was extracted from Iranian Legal Medicine Organization. The crude mortality rate was calculated each year according to gender and province of the country. To examine the trend for different years, joinpoint regression was used. Results: From 2013 to 2018, a total of 5853 persons suffered from fatal drowning in Iran. The crude mortality rate in men was significantly higher than in women. The drowning mortality rate has decreased during the study period in both genders. The annual percent change in mortality rate was 3.2%. Conclusions: Although the death rate from drowning has declined in the country, targeted scale-up of known effective interventions such as swimmers supervision and basic survival skills are still needed for reducing mortality due to drowning, particularly in provinces with high mortality rates.