Medically attended nonfatal injuries among preschool-age children: national estimates
M D Kogan1, M D Overpeck, L A Fingerhut
1Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, Hyattsville, MD 20782, USA.
Insights
Nearly 25% of children under three experienced medically attended injuries, with falls being most common. Boys and higher socioeconomic groups faced higher risks, highlighting the need for targeted prevention strategies.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Public Health
- Injury Prevention
Background:
- Nonfatal injuries are a significant health concern for young children.
- Understanding injury patterns is crucial for developing effective prevention strategies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the cumulative risk of injury in children from birth to three years old.
- To provide national estimates of medically attended nonfatal injuries and their causes in this age group.
Main Methods:
- Utilized data from the 1991 Longitudinal Follow-up to the National Maternal and Infant Health Survey.
- Analyzed injury data for 8,145 children from birth to three years old.
- Identified injury types, frequency, and associated risk factors.
Main Results:
- Approximately 25% of children experienced medically attended injuries.
- Falls accounted for 51% of injuries, followed by burns (11.7%) and striking/cutting injuries (9.8%).
- Higher injury risk was observed in boys and higher socioeconomic groups; 25.4% had multiple injuries.
Conclusions:
- Nonfatal injury patterns in preschool-aged children differ significantly from fatal injury patterns.
- Data on nonfatal injuries is vital for informing and targeting public health prevention efforts.
- Further research into specific injury mechanisms and effective interventions is warranted.
Abstract:
We used data from the 1991 Longitudinal Follow-up to the National Maternal and Infant Health Survey to examine cumulative risk of injury among children from birth to three years old and to provide national-level cause-specific estimates of medically attended nonfatal injuries for this age group. Almost 25% of the 8,145 children reportedly received care for an injury between birth and three years old. Among the children with injuries, 25.4% reportedly had more than one medically attended injury. Risk of reported injury was higher for boys and upper level socioeconomic groups. Falls were the most frequently reported injury (51%), followed by burns (11.7%), striking or cutting injuries (9.8%), poisonings (9.8%), and injuries from devices not intended for the child's use (7.9%). Nonfatal injuries for preschool-age children present a pattern strikingly different from that of fatal injuries among this age group, and the need for this data is important in targeting prevention strategies.
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