Unintentional Injury Mortality Research Articles

Social and economic factors associated with child unintentional injury mortality in high-income countries

IntroductionRecognising the connection between country-level social determinants of health, and child unintentional injury mortality can contribute to better resource allocation for child safety. This cross-sectional country-level study aims to investigate...

The trend of unintentional injury-related mortality among children aged under-five years in China, 2010–2020: a retrospective analysis from a national surveillance system

BackgroundIn this study, we estimated the trend of unintentional injury mortality among children aged under-five years in China during 2010–2020.MethodsData were obtained from China’s Under 5 Child Mortality Surveillance System (U5CMSS). The total unintentional injury mortality and all specific-causes unintentional injury mortality was calculated, annual numbers of deaths and live births were adjusted by a 3-year moving average under-reporting rate. The Poisson regression model and the Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel method were used to calculate the average annual decline rate (AADR) and the adjusted relative risk (aRR) of the unintentional injury mortality.ResultsIn 2010–2020, a total of 7,925 unintentional injury-related deaths were reported in U5CMSS, accounting for 18.7% of all reported deaths. The overall proportion of unintentional injury-related deaths to total under-five children deaths has increased from 15.2% to 2010 to 23.8% in 2020 (χ2 = 227.0, p < 0.001), the unintentional injury mortality significantly decreased from 249.3 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2010 to 178.8 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2020, with an AADR 3.7% (95%CI 3.1–4.4). The unintentional injury mortality rate decreased from 2010 to 2020 in both urban (from 68.1 to 59.7 per 100,000 live births) and rural (from 323.1 to 230.0 per 100,000 live births) areas (urban: χ2 = 3.1, p < 0.08; rural: χ2 = 113.5, p < 0.001). The annual rates of decline in rural areas and urban areas were 4.2% (95%CI 3.4–4.9) and 1.5% (95%CI 0.1–3.3), respectively. The leading causes of unintentional injury mortality were suffocation (2,611, 32.9%), drowning (2,398, 30.3%), and traffic injury (1,428, 12.8%) in 2010–2020. The cause-specific of unintentional injury mortality rates decreased with varying AADRs in 2010–2020, except for traffic injury. The composition of unintentional injury-related deaths also varied by age group. Suffocation was the leading cause in infants, drowning and traffic injury were the leading causes in children aged 1–4 years. Suffocation and poisoning has high incidence in October to March and drowning has high in June to August.ConclusionThe unintentional injury mortality rate of children aged under-five years decreased significantly from 2010 to 2020 in China, but great inequity exists in unintentional injury mortality in urban and rural areas. Unintentional injuries are still an important public health problem affecting the health of Chinese children. Effective strategies should be strengthened to reduce unintentional injury in children and these policies and programmes should be targeted to more specific populations, such as rural areas and males.

Health and Environmental Co-Benefits of City Urban Form in Latin America: An Ecological Study.

We investigated the association of urban landscape profiles with health and environmental outcomes, and whether those profiles are linked to environmental and health co-benefits. In this ecological study, we used data from 208 cities in 8 Latin American countries of the SALud URBana en América Latina (SALURBAL) project. Four urban landscape profiles were defined with metrics for the fragmentation, isolation, and shape of patches (contiguous area of urban development). Four environmental measures (lack of greenness, PM2.5, NO2, and carbon footprint), two cause-specific mortality rates (non-communicable diseases and unintentional injury mortality), and prevalence of three risk factors (hypertension, diabetes, and obesity) for adults were used as the main outcomes. We used linear regression models to evaluate the association of urban landscape profiles with environmental and health outcomes. In addition, we used finite mixture modeling to create co-benefit classes. Cities with the scattered pixels profile (low fragmentation, high isolation, and compact shaped patches) were most likely to have positive co-benefits. Profiles described as proximate stones (moderate fragmentation, moderate isolation, and irregular shape) and proximate inkblots (moderate-high fragmentation, moderate isolation, and complex shape) were most likely to have negative co-benefits. The contiguous large inkblots profile (low fragmentation, low isolation, and complex shape) was most likely to have mixed benefits.

Adolescent transport and unintentional injuries: a systematic analysis using the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

SummaryBackgroundGlobally, transport and unintentional injuries persist as leading preventable causes of mortality and morbidity for adolescents. We sought to report comprehensive trends in injury-related mortality and morbidity for adolescents aged 10–24 years during the past three decades.MethodsUsing the Global Burden of Disease, Injuries, and Risk Factors 2019 Study, we analysed mortality and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) attributed to transport and unintentional injuries for adolescents in 204 countries. Burden is reported in absolute numbers and age-standardised rates per 100 000 population by sex, age group (10–14, 15–19, and 20–24 years), and sociodemographic index (SDI) with 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs). We report percentage changes in deaths and DALYs between 1990 and 2019.FindingsIn 2019, 369 061 deaths (of which 214 337 [58%] were transport related) and 31·1 million DALYs (of which 16·2 million [52%] were transport related) among adolescents aged 10–24 years were caused by transport and unintentional injuries combined. If compared with other causes, transport and unintentional injuries combined accounted for 25% of deaths and 14% of DALYs in 2019, and showed little improvement from 1990 when such injuries accounted for 26% of adolescent deaths and 17% of adolescent DALYs. Throughout adolescence, transport and unintentional injury fatality rates increased by age group. The unintentional injury burden was higher among males than females for all injury types, except for injuries related to fire, heat, and hot substances, or to adverse effects of medical treatment. From 1990 to 2019, global mortality rates declined by 34·4% (from 17·5 to 11·5 per 100 000) for transport injuries, and by 47·7% (from 15·9 to 8·3 per 100 000) for unintentional injuries. However, in low-SDI nations the absolute number of deaths increased (by 80·5% to 42 774 for transport injuries and by 39·4% to 31 961 for unintentional injuries). In the high-SDI quintile in 2010–19, the rate per 100 000 of transport injury DALYs was reduced by 16·7%, from 838 in 2010 to 699 in 2019. This was a substantially slower pace of reduction compared with the 48·5% reduction between 1990 and 2010, from 1626 per 100 000 in 1990 to 838 per 100 000 in 2010. Between 2010 and 2019, the rate of unintentional injury DALYs per 100 000 also remained largely unchanged in high-SDI countries (555 in 2010 vs 554 in 2019; 0·2% reduction). The number and rate of adolescent deaths and DALYs owing to environmental heat and cold exposure increased for the high-SDI quintile during 2010–19.InterpretationAs other causes of mortality are addressed, inadequate progress in reducing transport and unintentional injury mortality as a proportion of adolescent deaths becomes apparent. The relative shift in the burden of injury from high-SDI countries to low and low–middle-SDI countries necessitates focused action, including global donor, government, and industry investment in injury prevention. The persisting burden of DALYs related to transport and unintentional injuries indicates a need to prioritise innovative measures for the primary prevention of adolescent injury.FundingBill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Correlates of deliberate self-harm among youth with bipolar disorder

ObjectiveYouth with bipolar disorder (BD) are at high risk for deliberate self-harm (DSH) and suicide. However, research regarding factors associated with DSH, a key suicide risk factor, among youth with BD is limited. In a population-based sample of youth with BD, we therefore investigated associations between demographic, clinical, and service utilization factors and DSH incidence and compared suicide, unintentional injury, and all-cause mortality to the general population. MethodWe analyzed a retrospective cohort of youth aged 5 to 19 years with a new BD episode between 2010 and 2017 (n = 25,244) using Ohio Medicaid claims and death certificate data. Cox proportional hazards models examined associations between different factors and DSH. Mortality rates were compared to the general population using standardized mortality ratios. ResultsDuring follow-up, 1,517 (6.0%) youth had at least one DSH event. Older index age, female sex, comorbid psychiatric/medical conditions, prior DSH/suicidal ideation, and prior ER mental healthcare were associated with increased DSH risk. Prior DSH was most strongly associated with increased DSH risk for 3 months after a new BD episode. Being non-Hispanic Black (vs. White, non-Hispanic) and prior psychiatric hospitalization were associated with decreased DSH hazard. DSH risk was highest for 3 months after a new BD episode. Suicide, unintentional injury, and all-cause mortality rates were elevated in youth with BD. LimitationsMay not generalize to other states or non-Medicaid populations; claims data cannot distinguish suicidal intent of self-harm ConclusionEarly intervention following a new BD episode, particularly among high-risk groups, is key to prevent DSH.

Unintentional injury deaths in children and youth, 2010–2019

Background: Unintentional injuries are the leading cause of death for children and youth aged 1–19 in the United States. The purpose of this report is to describe how unintentional injury death rates among children and youth aged 0–19 years have changed during 2010–2019. Method: CDC analyzed 2010–2019 data from the National Vital Statistics System (NVSS) to determine two-year average annual number and rate of unintentional injury deaths for children and youth aged 0–19 years by sex, age group, race/ethnicity, mechanism, county urbanization level, and state. Results: From 2010–2011 to 2018–2019, unintentional injury death rates decreased 11% overall—representing over 1,100 fewer annual deaths. However, rates increased among some groups—including an increase in deaths due to suffocation among infants (20%) and increases in motor-vehicle traffic deaths among Black children (9%) and poisoning deaths among Black (37%) and Hispanic (50%) children. In 2018–2019, rates were higher for males than females (11.3 vs. 6.6 per 100,000 population), children aged < 1 and 15–19 years (31.9 and 16.8 per 100,000) than other age groups, among American Indian or Alaska Native (AIAN) and Blacks than Whites (19.4 and 12.4 vs. 9.0 per 100,000), motor-vehicle traffic (MVT) than other causes of injury (4.0 per 100,000), and rates increased as rurality increased (6.8 most urban [large central metro] vs. 17.8 most rural [non-core/non-metro] per 100,000). From 2010–2011 to 2018–2019, 49 states plus DC had stable or decreasing unintentional injury death rates; death rates increased only in California (8%)—driven by poisoning deaths. Conclusion and Practical Application: While the overall injury death rates improved, certain subgroups and their caregivers can benefit from focused prevention strategies, including infants and Black, Hispanic, and AIAN children. Focusing effective strategies to reduce suffocation, MVT, and poisoning deaths among those at disproportionate risk could further reduce unintentional injury deaths among children and youth in the next decade.

Shifting patterns of disparities in unintentional injury mortality rates in the United States, 1999-2016.

ABSTRACTObjectives.To analyze changes in racial/ethnic disparities for unintentional injury mortality from 1999-2016.Methods.Mortality data are from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) for all unintentional injuries, analyzed separately by injury cause (motor vehicle accidents [MVA], poisonings, other unintentional) for white,black, and Hispanic populations within four age groups: 15-19, 20-34, 35-54, 55-74 for males and for females.Results.Rates across race/ethnic groups varied by gender, age and cause of injury. Unintentional injury mortality showed a recent increase for both males and females, which was more marked among males and for poisoning in all race/ethnic groups of both genders. Whites showed highest rates of poisoning mortality and the steepest increase for both genders, except for black males aged 55-74. MVA mortality also showed an increase for all race/ethnic groups, with a sharper rise among blacks, while Hispanics had lower rates than either whites or blacks. Rates for other unintentional injury mortality were similar across groups except for white women over 55, for whom rates were elevated.Conclusions.Data suggest while mortality from unintentional injury related to MVA and poisoning is on the rise for both genders and in most age groups, blacks compared to whites and Hispanics may be suffering a disproportionate burden of mortality related to MVAs and to poisonings among those over 55, which may be related to substance use.

Unintentional injury deaths among youth in Ontario, Canada from 2000 to 2015: Rates are falling but there are caveats

Youth may be susceptible to certain types of unintentional injuries that place them at risk of death. The objective of this research was to study trends in these deaths among youth (age 15 to 24) in the Canadian province of Ontario between 2000 and 2015. It is the first study to directly assess intra‐provincial trends. Our analysis of Statistics Canada's Vital Statistics – Death Database from 2000 to 2015 finds unintentional injury death rates among youth fell during this period and particularly in Ontario, where rates were significantly lower than other regions. The motor vehicle traffic death rate fell further in that province than it did nationally. The largest urban areas in the province had the lowest death rates, while several Census Divisions in the “near” north (including parts of “cottage country”) and “far” north had the highest. The unintentional injury death rate as a result of drugs and alcohol (particularly related to opioids) increased during this period, particularly in “North/Remote” areas of Ontario. To deal with the rise in drug‐ and alcohol‐related death rates, further consideration can be given to the unmeasured factors that may contribute to the use of dangerous drugs among youth.

Trends and disparities in American Indian/Alaska Native unintentional injury mortality from 1999 to 2016

IntroductionAlcohol and drug use are significant problems in the US, and American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities and individuals are known to be among the most affected. This study evaluates disparities...

Risk factors for fatal drowning in a Greek region: a retrospective case–control study

BackgroundFatal drowning is one of the leading causes of unintentional injury mortality worldwide and a persistent public health concern in Greece. While several pathologic and sociodemographic contributing factors have been...

Temperature, precipitation, ozone pollution, and daily fatal unintentional injuries in Jiangsu Province, China during 2015\u20132017

BackgroundThe correlation of unintentional injury mortality to rising temperatures found in several studies could result from changes in behavior that increases exposure to hazards or risk when exposed. Temperature, precipitation and air pollutants may contribute to symptoms and distractions that increase risk or avoidance behavior that reduces risk. This study examines data that allows estimates of the relation of daily maximum temperature, precipitation and ozone pollution to injury mortality risk, each corrected statistically for the correlation with the others.MethodsDaily data on unintentional injury deaths and exposures to temperature, precipitation and ozone in 9 cities in Jiangsu Province, China during 2015–2017 were analyzed using Poisson regression. The regression estimates were adjusted for weekends, holidays, an anomalous difference in death rates in Nanjing, and population size.ResultsNon transport injury death risk increased substantially in relation to higher temperatures when temperatures were in the moderate range and even more so at temperatures 35 degrees (C) and higher. Transport deaths were related to increasing deaths when temperatures were low but the correlation reversed at higher temperatures. Deaths were lower on rainy days when temperatures were cool and moderate with the exception of non-transport injuries when temperatures were moderate. Higher ozone concentrations were associated with more deaths except when temperatures were low.ConclusionsThe variations in deaths in relation to temperature, precipitation and ozone suggest that people are behaving differently or are in different environments when specific combinations of the predictor variables are prevalent, putting them at greater or less risk. More study of the behaviors and circumstances that result in injury under those conditions is needed.

Rural-Urban Mortality Disparities: Variations Across Causes of Death and Race/Ethnicity, 2013-2017.

Objectives. To examine rural-urban disparities in overall mortality and leading causes of death across Hispanic (any race) and non-Hispanic White, Black, American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN), and Asian/Pacific Islander populations.Methods. We performed a retrospective analysis of age-adjusted death rates for all-cause mortality and 5 leading causes of death (cardiovascular, cancer, unintentional injuries, chronic lower respiratory disease, and stroke) by rural versus urban county of residence in the United States and race/ethnicity for the period 2013 to 2017.Results. Rural populations, across all racial/ethnic groups, had higher all-cause mortality rates than did their urban counterparts. Comparisons within causes of death documented rural disparities for all conditions except cancer and stroke among Hispanic individuals; Hispanic rural residents had death rates similar to or lower than urban residents. Rural Black populations experienced the highest mortality for cardiovascular disease, cancer, and stroke. Unintentional injury and chronic lower respiratory disease mortality were highest in rural AI/AN and rural non-Hispanic White populations, respectively.Conclusions. Investigating rural-urban disparities without also considering race/ethnicity leaves minority health disparities unexamined and thus unaddressed. Further research is needed to clarify local factors associated with these disparities and to test appropriate interventions.

Unintentional Injury Mortality Among Children Under Five Years — China, 2006−2017

What is already known about this topic? Unintentional injuries among children aged under five years is still a serious public health problem in China. Epidemiological characteristics of under-five unintentional injury are reported in single provinces and cities for China but not nationally based on the Disease Surveillance Points (DSPs) dataset. What is added by this report? Unintentional injury mortality rates for under-five decreased substantially between 2006 and 2017 in China, with the decrease occurring primarily for males and rural children. Children living in rural areas and males had higher unintentional injury mortality rates than children in urban areas and females. The major fatal types of under-five unintentional injury were drowning and road injury. What are the implications for public health practice? Further interventions need to be taken in accordance with the main types of unintentional injuries, especially effective prevention strategies used in other countries or recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). Even with equal access to injury prevention and control services for different sexes, policy efforts should focus on higher-risk populations, especially children aged under five years who are males or reside in rural areas.

The Burden of Unintentional Injury Mortality Among American Indians/Alaska Natives in Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.

To characterize the burden of unintentional injury mortality among American Indians/Alaska Natives (AI/ANs) in Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin and identify segments of the population that may especially benefit from policy and practice actions to reduce unintentional injury mortality risk factors. Surveillance of mortality data from CDC WONDER and WISQARS online databases. The 3 states in the Indian Health Service (IHS) Bemidji Area: Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. AI/ANs and whites who died from unintentional injuries in 2011-2015 in Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. Unintentional injury mortality rates and AI/AN versus white unintentional injury mortality disparity ratios. For all types of unintentional injury mortality, from 2011 to 2015, AI/ANs in the Bemidji Area died at an age-adjusted rate that was 77% higher than that for whites, a statistically significant difference. For AI/ANs in the 3-state area, the top cause of unintentional death was poisoning. The poisoning rate was a statistically significant 2.64 times as high for AI/ANs as that for whites, the highest disparity seen by type. When analyzed by age, gender, and rural/urban residence, unintentional injury mortality rates were almost always higher for AI/ANs. AI/ANs also had a much higher burden of years of potential life lost. Unintentional injury mortality significantly affects AI/ANs in the 3-state area and to a larger degree than for whites. However, some of the risk factors for unintentional injury are modifiable and, if addressed effectively, can reduce injury deaths. Governments, local leaders, organizations, and individuals can reduce AI/ANs' risk of unintentional injury by providing effective programming; encouraging or modeling behavior change; advocating for, creating, and enforcing laws and policies; and making infrastructure improvements. Increased attention to this topic and equitable efforts to reduce risk factors have great potential to reduce the burden of unintentional injury deaths for AI/ANs and all peoples.

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Mortality Risk in Taiwan

Few studies have investigated levels of mortality in patients with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and findings have been inconsistent and lacking information on specific causes of deaths. To investigate the association between ADHD and causes of death in Taiwan. A nationwide population-based cohort study was conducted using a cross-national Taiwanese registry. The ADHD group comprised 275 980 individuals aged 4 to 44 years with a new diagnosis between January 1, 2000, and December 31, 2012. All individuals with ADHD were compared with 1 931 860 sex- and age-matched controls without ADHD. The association between ADHD and mortality was analyzed using a Cox regression model that controlled for sex, age, residence, insurance premium, outpatient visits, congenital anomaly, intellectual disability, depression disorder, autism, substance use disorder, conduct disorder, and oppositional defiant disorder. The analysis of suicide, unintentional injury, homicide, and natural-cause mortality was performed by a competing risk adjusted Cox regression controlling for other causes of mortality and potential confounding factors. Data on mortality from all causes, suicide, unintentional injury, homicide, and natural causes collected from a national mortality database. There were 275 980 individuals with ADHD and 1 931 860 comparison individuals without ADHD in this study. Sex and age at index date were matched. The mean (SD) age was 9.61 (5.74) years for both groups. Most of the participants were male (209 406 in the ADHD group; 1 465 842 in the non-ADHD group; 75.88% for both groups). A total of 4321 participants from both cohorts died during the follow-up period (15.1 million person-years), including 727 (0.26%) from the ADHD group and 3594 (0.19%) from the non-ADHD group. Of those who died, 546 (75.1%) in the ADHD group and 2852 (79.4%) in the non-ADHD group were male. After adjusting for potential confounders, compared with the non-ADHD group, patients with ADHD showed higher overall mortality (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.07; 95% CI, 1.00-1.17) and higher injury-cause mortality from suicide (adjusted hazard ratio, 2.09; 95% CI, 1.62-2.71), unintentional injury (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.30; 95% CI, 1.10-1.52), and homicide (adjusted hazard ratio, 2.00; 95% CI, 1.09-3.68). No increased risk of natural-cause mortality was observed after adjustment. In this study, ADHD was associated with higher injury-cause mortality, particularly that due to suicide, unintentional injury, and homicide. Although the risk of injury mortality was significantly higher in patients with ADHD than in the non-ADHD group, the absolute risk of mortality was low.

Unintentional injury mortality among children under age five in urban and rural areas in the Sichuan province of west China, 2009\u20132017

This study analysed trends in the unintentional injuries specific mortality rates among children under age five (UI-specific U5MRs) in urban and rural areas in the Sichuan province of western China. Data were obtained from the National Health Statistics Survey System. The Cochran-Armitage trend test was used to analyse the trends in UI-specific U5MRs and the proportion of unintentional injury deaths to total deaths. The Poisson regression model was used to compare the UI-specific U5MRs between rural and urban areas. The overall UI-specific U5MRs decreased from 3.8 to 1.7 per 1,000 live births from 2009 to 2017, with an average annual decline in the rates of 8.78% and 10.05% in urban and rural areas, respectively. The UI risk of death in rural areas was approximately 1.95 times that in urban areas (95% CI: 1.73–2.18; p < 0.01). A total of 49.9% of all the children in the study did not receive any treatment before death caused by UI. The UI-specific U5MRs significantly declined in Sichuan province from 2009 to 2017, but large disparities in UI-specific U5MRs in urban and rural areas still exist. Reducing the U5MRs due to UI should be a major public health concern in western China.

Changes in reporting for unintentional injury deaths, United States of America.

ObjectiveTo quantify how changes in reporting of specific causes of death and of selecting underlying cause from among multiple causes of death contribute to trends in mortality from unintentional injury in Americans aged 65 years or older.MethodsWe extracted age-standardized unintentional injury mortality data in the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention online databases from 1999 to 2016. We used an attribution method to calculate two indicators: the proportion of mortality with specific codes out of all mortality; and the proportion of mortality with underlying cause of death selected from multiple causes of death. We conducted a linear regression to examine the changes over time in these proportions and in reported and age-adjusted mortality.FindingsFrom 1999 through 2016, the proportion of cause-specific unintentional injury mortality in this age group increased from 74% in 1999 (136.9 out of 185.0 per 100 000 population) to 85% in 2016 (143.0 out of 169.1 per 100 000 population) based on multiple causes of death codes. The proportions of mortality with underlying cause of death selected out of multiple causes of death rose in all specific causes of unintentional injury except motor vehicle crash. Age-standardized mortality attributed to reporting changes increased steadily between 1999 and 2016. The increases for overall unintentional injury, fall, motor vehicle crash, suffocation, poisoning and fire or hot object were 24.2, 13.5, 2.1, 2.3, 1.6 and 0.4 deaths per 100 000 persons, respectively.ConclusionChanges in data reporting affect trends in overall and specific unintentional injury mortality over time for older Americans.

Disparities in Unintentional Occupational Injury Mortality between High-Income Countries and Low- and Middle-Income Countries: 1990⁻2016.

Objective: Using estimates from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study, we examined differences in unintentional occupational injury mortality rates from 1990 to 2016 between high-income countries (HICs) and low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Methods: Unintentional occupational injury mortality rates were obtained through the GBD online visualization tool. We quantified mortality changes over time for common external causes of injury for ages 15–49 years and 50–69 years separately in HICs and LMICs using negative binomial regression models. Results: In 2016, there were 24,396 and 303,999 unintentional occupational injury deaths among individuals aged 15 to 69 years in HICs and LMICs, respectively, corresponding to 3.1 and 7.0 per 100,000 people. Between 1990 and 2016, unintentional occupational injury mortality for people aged 15–69 years dropped 46% (from 5.7 to 3.1 per 100,000 people) in HICs and 42% in LMICs (from 13.2 to 7.0 per 100,000 people). Sustained and large disparities existed between HICs and LMICs for both sexes and both age groups during 1990–2016 (mortality rate ratio: 2.2–2.4). All unintentional occupational injury causes of death displayed significant reduction with one exception (ages 15–49 years in HICs). Country-specific analysis revealed large variations in unintentional occupational injury mortality and changes in occupational injury mortality between 1990 and 2016. Conclusions: Despite substantial decreases in mortality between 1990 and 2016 for both HICs and LMICs, a large disparity continues to exist between HICs and LMICs. Multifaceted efforts are needed to reduce the disparity.

The Epidemiology of Unintentional and Violence-Related Injury Morbidity and Mortality among Children and Adolescents in the United States.

Injuries and violence among young people have a substantial emotional, physical, and economic toll on society. Understanding the epidemiology of this public health problem can guide prevention efforts, help identify and reduce risk factors, and promote protective factors. We examined fatal and nonfatal unintentional injuries, injuries intentionally inflicted by other (i.e., assaults and homicides) among children ages 0–19, and intentionally self-inflicted injuries (i.e., self-harm and suicides) among children ages 10–19. We accessed deaths (1999–2015) and visits to emergency departments (2001–2015) for these age groups through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS), and examined trends and differences by age, sex, race/ethnicity, rural/urban status, and injury mechanism. Almost 13,000 children and adolescents age 0–19 years died in 2015 from injury and violence compared to over 17,000 in 1999. While the overall number of deaths has decreased over time, there were increases in death rates among certain age groups for some categories of unintentional injury and for suicides. The leading causes of injury varied by age group. Our results indicate that efforts to reduce injuries to children and adolescents should consider cause, intent, age, sex, race, and regional factors to assure that prevention resources are directed at those at greatest risk.

Disproportionately higher unintentional injury mortality among Alaska Native people, 2006–2015

ABSTRACTWe compared rates of unintentional injury (UI) deaths (total and by injury category) among Alaska Native (AN) people to rates of U.S. White (USW) and Alaska White (AKW) populations during 2006–2015. The mortality data for AN and AKW populations were obtained from Alaska Bureau of Vital Statistics and USW mortality data were obtained from WISQARS, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention online injury data program. AN and AKW rates were age-adjusted to the U.S. 2000 Standard Population and rate ratios (RR) were calculated. AN people had higher age-adjusted total UI mortality than the USW (RR = 2.6) and AKW (RR = 2.3) populations. Poisoning was the leading cause of UI death among AN people (35.9 per 100,000), more than twice that of USW (RR = 2.9) and AKW (RR = 2.5). Even greater disparities were found between AN people and USW for: natural environment (RR = 20.7), transport-other land (RR = 12.4), and drowning/submersion (RR = 9.1). Rates of AN UI were markedly higher than rates for either USW or AKW. Identifying all the ways in which alcohol/drugs contribute to UI deaths would aid in prevention efforts. All transportation deaths should be integrated into one fatality rate to provide more consistent comparisons between groups.