Citation

Bachani AM, Ghaffar A, Hyder AA. East Mediterr. Health J. 2011; 17(5): 375-381.

Affiliation

International Injury Research Unit, Department of lnternational Health, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, United States of America.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2011, World Health Organization)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

21796948

Abstract

There are no reliable estimates of the burden of fall-related injuries in Pakistan. To assess this burden and develop an epidemiologic profile for these injuries, data from the National Injury Survey of Pakistan, a cross-sectional population-based survey on injuries, were analysed to determine incidence and relative risks for fall injury. The annual incidence of fall-related injuries was 8.85 per 1000 population per year (95% CI: 6.8-11.3). The mean and median age of individuals injured by falls was 19 years and 10.5 years respectively. Children under the age of 15 years were at a substantially higher risk of fall injuries. Being a student and farmer/labourer/vendor were associated with a higher risk for falls compared with unemployed. Fall-related injuries are a health burden in Pakistan, especially in children under 15 years of age. This represents a significant loss of healthy life and requires policies to curb this burden in the population.

Language: en