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Injuries threaten survival of Iranian childrenMay 28, 2010–More than 44,000 Iranian children under the age of 15 died due to injuries between 2001 and 2006, making injuries the leading cause of death among children in Iran, according to new research from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington. With child injury recognized as a global health problem, researchers sought to estimate the impact of injuries on children in Iran. Their research found that road transport injuries were responsible for the highest death rate among all child injuries. There were 3,000 to 4,000 transport injury deaths each year. Falls and burns resulted in the most cases of hospitalization and outpatient care. Overall death rates were higher in rural areas, while outpatient rates were higher in urban areas. The study, The burden of injuries in Iranian children in 2005, was recently published in Population Health Metrics. The number of injury-related deaths per 100,000 was 35.0 in children ages 0 to 1 year; 33.4 in children ages 1 to 4 years; 24.9 in children ages 5 to 9 years; and 22.9 in children ages 10 to 14 years. Researchers concluded that the mortality rate from injuries likely decreases as children age because of their improved ability to avoid or escape dangerous settings, not because of an increase in the provision of safe environments for children. The proportion of child deaths due to injuries to all child deaths increased from 1971 to the 2001-2006 time frame addressed in this research. The increase can be attributed to a decline in other causes of death, such as communicable diseases, as well as an actual increase in injury-related deaths. “Iran must find a way to reduce child injuries,” said lead author Dr. Mohsen Naghavi, Associate Professor of Global Health at IHME. “It is the responsibility of governments, communities, and families to protect children and youth.” Full Citation: Naghavi M, Pourmalek F, Shahraz S, Jafari N, Delavar B, Motlagh ME. The burden of injuries in Iranian children in 2005. Population Health Metrics. 2010 Mar 31; 8:5. *Software capable of displaying a PDF is required for viewing or printing this document. You may download a free copy of Adobe Reader from the Adobe website at http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html. |
