Accidental poisonings shot up by 128 percent over 10 years, says a new study, and one expert says those are often tied to prescription drugs. (Greg McMullin/Flickr Creative Commons)
Suicide, poisoning and falls: Mortality rates for all three rose over the past 10 years.
Deadly car accidents have declined, though.
That's according to a new study appearing in the American Journal of Public Health, which looked at the leading causes of death by injury, both intentional and accidental, between 2000 and 2009.
Unintentional poisoning deaths rose by a whopping 128 percent, said the report, and the morality rate for falls shot up 71 percent.
Simon Rego, the director of psychology training at Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City, told HealthDay poisonings are usually via prescription medication.
Suicide deaths rose by 15 percent.
"Comprehensive traffic safety measures have successfully reduced the national motor vehicle crash mortality rate," wrote the report's authors, citing a 25-percent decrease. "Similar efforts will be required to diminish the burden of other injury."
In other words, it's now time to widen the scope of prevention efforts, something the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention echoed earlier this month when it announced a revised plan for reducing the nation's suicide rate.
Researchers used data from the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics. Some numbers for 2009:
– The western region of the U.S. had a fatal injury death rate of about 56 victims per 100,000 people.
– Victims between the ages of 35 and 54 had the highest death rate, followed by victims between 55 and 74.
– The death rate among men was much higher than the rate for women: Nearly 80 men per 100,000 people, compared to about 36 women.
– White people had the highest fatal injury rate per 100,000 people: Nearly 65, compared to about 57 for black people and almost 35 for Latinos.
As far as the racial breakdowns for the four specified fatal injury categories the study looked at, the rates were as follows, again per 100,000 people:
– Suicide: White people, about 23; black people, about 9; Latinos, about 15; all other ethnicities, about 23
– Poisoning: White people, about 19; black people, 13; Latinos, about 15; all other ethnicities, about 14
– Fall: White people, about 17; black people, about 5; Latinos, about 7; all other ethnicities, about 12
– Homicide: White people, about 4; black people, about 35; Latinos, about 19; all other ethnicities, about 10
Black, Latino and white people make up about 38, 57 and 2 percent of South Los Angeles, respectively.
Photo by Greg McMullin via Flickr Creative Commons.
