Leading Causes of Unintentional Injuries in Adolescence

background/purpose: Unintentional injuries were the fifth leading cause of death within the United States in 2012.  Furthermore, injuries are the leading cause of death among people aged 1-44 years.   Mortality data represents just a small fraction of the impact of injury on the population. Nonfatal injuries can have serious and lifelong ramifications. Injuries at a young age are especially likely to cause a dramatic decrease in quality-adjusted life years (QALY), and a dramatic decrease in lost productivity.  The purpose of this study was to identify the most common causes of nonfatal unintentional injuries among adolescents.

methods: Data on hospital admission and ED discharge for San Diego County residents under 14 years old was collected using Epicenter. This data was analyzed to find the most frequent causes of unintentional injury for children under 14 and the rates of each cause.  

results/outcomes: In 2012, the rate of unintentional injury hospitalization was 173.3 per 100,000 and the rate of ED discharge was 6702.5 per 100,000.  The top causes of both hospitalization and ED discharge due to unintentional injury varied between ages.  However, the top cause of unintentional injury was fall across all age groups. The primary causes of injury varied more dramatically for children who were hospitalized than for children who were discharged from the ED.

conclusion: Although there were some similarities between causes of unintentional injuries, there exist significant differences across age groups. By increasing the attention to specific age and causes of unintentional injuries, organizations can better prevent injuries.