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Abstract
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Objective The objective of this paper was to show the analysis of mortality and morbidity from injuries by external causes (V01-Y98; ICD-10) in Croatia in the period 2004-2008, as a contribution to the knowledge of this public health problem.
Materials and Methods Routine health morbidity and mortality statistics and WHO/HFA database were used and expressed as percentage shares, PYLLs as well as crude and standardised rates.
Results On Croatias mortality scale in period 2004-2008 injuries with an average share of 5.7% in total mortality ranked third (2006 and 2008) or fourth (2004 and 2005) behind cardiovascular diseases, neoplasms and respiratory diseases. General mortality (average rate: 65.3/100 000) for injuries did not change significantly between 2004 and 2008. Given the premature mortality indicator potential years of life lost (age: 1-75) injuries ranked third, following after neoplasms and cardiovascular diseases. Suicides, traffic accidents and falls are the leading external causes of death. The standardised injury mortality for all ages was 53.3/100 000 in Croatia in 2006 (last available comparative data from WHO/HFA-DB). It surpassed the EU average (40.4/100 000), but remained lower than the European region average (76/100 000). With an average share of 7.9% in the causes of hospital treatment, injuries ranked sixth. Falls accounted for one third of the causes of injury-related hospitalisations, most commonly in persons older than 65.
Conclusion Because they account for a large part of total mortality and morbidity, injuries represent a major public health problem in Croatia. A systematic implementation of preventive programmes is thus required. |