Injuries kill over 20 000 children a year in developed countries
Child deaths from injuries halved between 1970 and 1995, but some
countries moved faster than others. Australia and New Zealand, for
example, started with similar rates, but by the mid-1990s Australia had
cut its rate by 60%, while New Zealand’s fell by only 40%
Injury accounts for almost 40% of
annual deaths in children aged 1
to 14 in the world's most developed nations, says a new report
by Unicef released this week.
Traffic accidents, intentional
injuries, drowning, falls, fires,
poisonings, and other hazards
kill more than 20 000 children
aged under 15 every year. This
makes preventable injuries the
principal cause of child death in
developed nations.
Peter Adamson, one of the
report's authors, said: "Over 500
children, anonymous to most of
us, died from accidents this year
[in the United Kingdom], but
their families are just as bereaved
as those of high profile murder
cases." Deaths from traffic accidents account for 41% of all child
deaths from injury, and boys are
70% more likely to die from injury
than girls.
The report presents a standardised league table of child
injury deaths per 100 000 children between 1991 and 1995 for
nations in the Organisation for
Economic Co-operation and
Development (OECD), using
mortality data from the World
Health Organization.
Sweden and the United
Kingdom have the best records
on child safety, occupying the
top two places of the 26 country
league table, with Sweden having just over five child injury deaths per 100 000 children.
The bottom two places are occupied by Mexico and South
Korea, with rates three to four
times higher than the leading
countries. The United States and
Portugal have rates twice as high
as the leading countries.
Unicef estimates that at least
12 000 deaths a year could be prevented if all OECD countries had
the same child injury death rate as
Sweden. Dr Elizabeth Towner, a
contributor to the report, warned:
"We need more research to see
what effect decreased deaths has
had on disability."
The number of child deaths
from injury in OECD nations
fell by about 50% between 1970
and 1995. In 16 cases countries
more than halved their child
injury death rates over this period. Peter Adamson said: "It is
very evident that the [OECD]
countries have been progressing
at very different speeds." He
emphasised that "steep reductions are not the result of a
magic wand, but of policy."
Despite good overall performance, the United Kingdom has
shown a clear disparity between
the rich and poor sections of the
population.
Jason O'Neale Roach, BMJ
studentBMJ 2001;09:43-84 March ISSN 0966-6494
