Injury deaths in the adolescent population of Finland: a 43-year secular trend analysis between 1971 and 2013.

Injuries are a major public health problem worldwide, being the leading cause of death in children and adolescents in developed countries. However, knowledge on recent secular trends in injury deaths of adolescents is sparse. Using Official Cause-of-Death Statistics of Finland, we examined the nationwide trends in the age- and sex-specific incidence rates of fatal injuries among 10-14-year-old and 15-19-year-old adolescents in Finland between 1971 and 2013. The incidence rate of fatal injuries decreased considerably in both age groups during the 43-year follow-up period. The decline in injury deaths was mainly due to decreased deaths in traffic accidents. The number of drownings reached the ultimate goal-that is, there were no drownings in Finnish 10-19-year-old adolescents in 2013. The rates of intentional injury deaths remained stable in girls, while in 15-19-year-old boys a decreasing trend was evident. During the deep economic depression in 1990, the incidence of suicide in 15-19-year-old boys was as high as 40.1. At that time, boys' suicide risk was 7.4 times higher than that of girls. Since then, boys' risk for suicide has clearly decreased and was 1.6 times higher than the corresponding risk in girls in 2013. The incidence rate of fatal injuries decreased considerably in Finnish adolescents during the period 1971-2013. The clearest change occurred in road traffic injuries and drownings. The rates of intentional injury deaths remained unaltered in girls while 15-19-year-old boys showed a decreasing trend.

Parkkari J ，Sievänen H ，Niemi S ，Mattila VM ，Kannus P ... -  《-》

Fatal childhood injuries in Finland, 1971-2010.

Parkkari J ，Mattila V ，Kivistö J ，Niemi S ，Palvanen M ，Kannus P ... -  《-》

Injury-related deaths among Finnish adolescents in 1971-2002.

Mattila VM ，Parkkari J ，Niemi S ，Kannus P ... -  《INJURY-INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF THE CARE OF THE INJURED》

Secular trends in rates of unintentional injury deaths among adult Finns.

Kannus P ，Niemi S ，Palvanen M ，Parkkari J ，Järvinen M ... -  《INJURY-INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF THE CARE OF THE INJURED》

Unintentional injury deaths among adult Finns in 1971-2008.

Injuries are a significant public health problem and among the leading causes of death worldwide. In Finland, nearly 1.2 million accidents or assaults lead to physical injury annually. This study examined the nationwide trends in unintentional injury deaths of adults in Finland. For this purpose, we obtained from the Finnish Official Cause-of-Death Statistics (OCDS) the data for persons aged 15 years or older whose deaths occurred in 1971-2008 due to an unintentional injury. A drastic decline occurred in road traffic crashes. The age-standardized death rate (per 100,000 person-years) of men's road traffic crashes was 48 in 1971 but only 10 in 2008. Traffic caused fewer deaths in women than men, but the declining trend in women's death rates was also clear, from 17 in 1971 to 3 in 2008. During the study period, falls became the leading category of men's unintentional injury death, although their rate rose rather slowly from 19 in 1971 to 21 in 2008. Among Finnish women, the rate of fall-induced deaths declined from 32 in 1971 to 16 in 2008. There was a notable rise in men's unintentional alcohol poisoning deaths, especially since 2003. In 2008, alcohol poisonings were the second leading cause of men's injury death (rate 18). The rate of women's deaths due to alcohol poisoning was yet low during the entire study period but its rise was clear, from 1 in 1971 to 5 in 2008. Poisoning deaths caused by other substances also increased: among men their rate was 4 in 1971 and 11 in 2008, and among women 2 in 1971 to 4 in 2008. Between 1998 and 2008, psychotropic drugs, narcotics and opioid analgesics caused the majority of both men's and women's non-alcohol poisoning deaths. In conclusion, unintentional injury deaths in road traffic crashes declined steeply among adult Finns during 1971-2008. The rate of fall-induced deaths in Finnish men was rather stable during the study period while in women it clearly declined. In contrast, increase in poisoning deaths due to alcohol and other substances was alarming. Vigorous preventive actions should be initiated to control this development.

Korhonen N ，Niemi S ，Parkkari J ，Palvanen M ，Kannus P ... -  《-》