Original article
Adolescent Injury Deaths and Hospitalization in Canada: Magnitude and Temporal Trends (1979–2003)

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2007.02.011Get rights and content

Abstract

Purpose

To understand the magnitude and the national trends of mortality and hospitalization due to injuries among Canadian adolescents aged 15–19 years in 1979–2003.

Methods

Data on injury deaths and hospitalizations were obtained from the national Vital Statistical System and the Hospital Morbidity Database. Injuries were classified by intent and by mechanism.

Results

In 15–19-year-olds, 75.6% of all deaths and 16.6% of all hospitalizations were attributed to injuries. Unintentional and self-inflicted injuries accounted for 70.2% and 24.1%, respectively, of total injury deaths as well as 72.6% and 17.4%, respectively, of total injury hospitalizations. The main causes for injury were motor vehicle traffic-related injury (MVT), suffocation, firearm, poisoning, and drowning for injury deaths; and MVT, poisoning, fall, struck by/against, and cut/pierce for injury hospitalizations. Mortality and hospitalization rates of total and unintentional injuries decreased substantially, whereas those of self-inflicted injuries decreased only slightly, with a small increase in females. Rates also decreased for all causes except suffocation, which showed an increasing trend. Males had higher rates for all intents and causes than females, except for self-inflicted injury hospitalization (higher in females). The territories and Prairie Provinces also had higher ones of total injuries and self-inflicted injuries than in other provinces.

Conclusions

Injury is the leading cause of deaths and a major source of hospitalizations in Canadian adolescents. However, prevention programs in Canada have made significant progress in reducing injury mortality and hospitalization. The graduated driver licensing, enforcement of seat-belt use, speed limit and alcohol control, and Canadian tough gun control may have contributed to the decline.

Section snippets

Methods

People in late adolescence were chosen as the study population mainly because driving becomes a means of transportation as well as a recreational activity in this age group, when they are still developing motor skills and decision-making skills.

Annual mortality data were obtained from the national Vital Statistics System at Statistics Canada. The Vital Statistics System is a statutory and computer-based register that covers the entire Canadian population. The central Vital Statistics Registry

Results

During the study period (1979 to 2003), injury deaths in adolescent males and females aged 15–19 years accounted for an average of 79.6% and 65.0% of all deaths, respectively. From 1986 to 2003, injury hospitalizations in this age group accounted for an average of 31.0% and 9.3% of all hospitalizations in males and females, respectively. These proportions did not change significantly over the period (Figure 1).

Between 1979 and 2003, deaths due to unintentional and self-inflicted injuries

Discussion

Our study showed that from 1979 to 2003, injury was the leading cause of deaths and a major source of morbidity in Canadian adolescents aged 15 to 19 years. We also found that mortality and hospitalizations due to total and unintentional injuries decreased substantially in both adolescent males and females; but for self-inflicted injuries, they decreased on a smaller scale or even increased slightly. The leading cause of injury deaths for both genders was MVT-related injuries, followed by

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