Males as a high-risk group for trauma: the Finnish experience

The high incidence of trauma among young men has been observed in many countries. To better understand this risk, we analyzed male injuries and their causes in Finland. The incidence peak of medically attended trauma in men aged 15-24 years was caused by occupational and sports injuries, whereas that of hospitalizations was due to motor vehicle injuries. Age patterns of nonfatal trauma resembled those recorded in the U.S.A. However, patterns and causes of fatal trauma were very different in the two countries: early adulthood in the U.S.A. and late middle-age in Finland were the ages of highest injury mortality. The majority of deaths in young men were caused by motor vehicle injuries in the U.S.A., whereas suicides and the extremely high rate of fatal non-motor vehicle accidents, largely due to alcohol poisoning and drownings, formed the main bulk of injury mortality in Finland. Similarities in early adulthood suggest general biological factors, whereas the deviance of the middle-aged male Finns from the general pattern may indicate more specific psychosocial factors.