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