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Aetiology of burn injuries among children aged 0-4 years: results of a case-control study
O J van Rijn1, L M Bouter, A D Kester
1Department of Health Education, University of Limburg, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Insights
This study identified key risk factors for burn injuries in young Dutch children, including non-Dutch ethnicity, smaller homes, and specific cooking practices like gas stoves and hot drink storage. Lower socioeconomic status unexpectedly showed a decreased burn risk.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric injury prevention
- Public health research
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Burn injuries are a significant cause of unintentional harm in young children.
- Identifying modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors is crucial for effective prevention strategies.
- Previous research has explored various factors, but specific population data is essential.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate putative risk factors associated with burn injuries in Dutch children aged 0-4 years.
- To quantify the association between identified risk factors and burn injury occurrence.
- To inform targeted public health interventions for pediatric burn prevention.
Main Methods:
- A case-control study design was employed during 1987/1988.
- Data was collected via postal questionnaires from parents of children aged 0-4 years.
- Logistic regression analysis was used to calculate odds ratios (OR-LR) and 90% confidence intervals (CI (90 per cent)) for risk factors.
Main Results:
- Non-Dutch ethnicity (e.g., Turkish) was associated with a significantly higher risk of burns (OR-LR = 5.6; CI (90 per cent) = 2.6-11.9).
- Children living in smaller houses had an increased burn risk (OR-LR = 2.5; CI(90 per cent) = 1.3-4.7).
- Unexpectedly, lower socioeconomic classes showed a decreased risk (OR-LR = 0.3; CI (90 per cent) = 0.1-0.6).
- Specific risk factors included hot oven windows (OR-LR = 2.1), storing hot drinks in original pots (OR-LR = 2.0), and cooking on a gas stove (OR-LR = 2.5).
Conclusions:
- Burn risk in young children is influenced by ethnicity, housing conditions, and socioeconomic status.
- Specific household practices, such as oven use and drink storage, are significant modifiable risk factors.
- Findings highlight the need for culturally sensitive and socioeconomically tailored burn prevention programs for children.
Abstract:
During the year 1987/1988 a case-control study was conducted, by means of a postal questionnaire, among parents of children aged 0-4 years. Cases (n = 122) were 0-4-year-old Dutch children who visited emergency departments with burn injuries. Controls (n = 213) were a sample of the Dutch population of 0-4-year-old children without burn injuries. Odds ratios based on logistic regression (OR-LR) and 90 per cent confidence intervals (CI (90 per cent) were calculated for a number of putative risk factors. The risk of burns was higher for children with other than Dutch (e.g. Turkish) ethnicity (OR-LR = 5.6; CI (90 per cent) = 2.6-11.9). Children who lived in relatively small houses turned out to have a higher risk of burns (OR-LR = 2.5; CI(90 per cent) = 1.3-4.7). To our surprise, children belonging to lower socioeconomic classes were found to have a decreased risk of burns (OR-LR = 0.3; CI (90 per cent) = 0.1-0.6). Furthermore, among several manipulatable risk factors, the use of an oven window which gets hot while in use appeared to have an increased risk of burns (OR-LR = 2.1; CI(90 per cent) 1.3-3.5). The same holds for the storage of hot drinks in their original pots instead of in vacuum flasks (OR-LR = 2.0; CI (90 per cent) 1.2-3.1). Cooking on a gas stove was found to be another risk factor (OR-LR = 2.5; CI(90 per cent) 1.1-10.0).