Epidemiology of Accidents and Traumas in Qom Province in 2010

Authors

1 Health Deputy, Qom University of Medical Sciences, Qom, IR Iran

2 Department of Epidemiology, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, IR Iran

3 Department of Health Education, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, IR Iran

10.5812/atr.8382

Abstract

Background
Accidents are the most important public health challenges in our society. To prevent
the accidents, the identification of their epidemiological features seems necessary.


Objectives
This study was conducted to reveal the epidemiological features of accidents and their
casualties in Qom province in 2010.


Patients and Methods
A cross–sectional study was conducted on 29426 injured people referred to Qom
province hospitals in 2010. Information about place, time, type of accidents and traumas
and demographic variables had been collected in a veteran hospital. Data were analyzed
by SPSS (version 16) software, using chi-square test and logistic regression.


Results
The incidence of accidents was about 27/1000 per year. The incidences of traffic
accidents, motorcycle accidents, violence, burns, poisoning and suicides were 3, 1.6,
1.2, 0.3, 0.8, 0.37 cases per 1000 people respectively. Strikes (65%) and falls (12%)
were the main causes of traumas. Forty-six percent of all injuries had occurred in 16 -
30 years groups. Most frequent accidents were as follows: fall (97%) and strike (50%) in
< 12, violence (46%) in 20 - 29, suicide (71%) in 15 - 29, poisoning (34%) and burns
(20%) among < 5 years old. Pedestrian and motorcycle accidents among +60 years old
people were significantly higher than other (P = 0.000). Odds ratio for suicide among
female was about 3.36 and in 16 - 30 age-group was 15.7 more than +60 years old group (P
= 0.000).


Conclusions
Most traumas in Qom province occurred among younger age-groups and strikes and falls
are the main causes of such traumas. Therefore, safeties to prevent falls and traffic
regulations to reduce strikes can be effective strategies.

Keywords