Citation

Bener A, Hussain SJ, Ghaffar A, Abou-Taleb H, El-Sayed HF. World J. Pediatr. 2011; 7(1): 41-44.

Affiliation

Department of Medical Statistics & Epidemiology, Hamad General Hospital & Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar, abener@hmc.org.qa.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2011, Institute of Pediatrics of Zhejiang University)

DOI

10.1007/s12519-010-0208-x

PMID

20549413

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to explore the trends in injury mortality in children aged 0-18 years in the State of Qatar. No such study has been conducted previously in Qatar. METHODS: Univariate statistical analysis was used in this retrospective descriptive study. A total of 2934 children aged 0-18 years who died due to injuries in the period of 1 January 1993 to 31 December 2007 were studied. RESULTS: The leading causes of death were road traffic injuries (RTIs) (71.3%), drowning (9.3%) and accidental falls (6.0%). Injury death rates were higher in citizens (57.7%) than in non-citizens (42.3%). The children of 15-18 years old had the highest frequency of injury deaths (34.4%), followed by children of 10-14 years old (21.3%). The mortality rate of RTI per 100 000 population increased remarkably in the year 2005 compared to previous years. CONCLUSIONS: The present study suggests that RTI is a major cause of childhood death. Injury mortality is higher in boys than in girls. During the period of 1993-2007, there was a dramatic increase in childhood mortality caused by RTI. This study highlights the burden of RTI caused mortalities in children, which requires immediate action.

Language: en