Citation

de Juniac A, Kreis I, Ibison J, Murray V. Int. J. Environ. Health Res. 2012; 22(3): 210-219.

Affiliation

a Centre for Radiation, Chemical and Environmental Hazards (London) , Health Protection Agency , London , UK.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2012, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/09603123.2011.628645

PMID

22175228

Abstract

This study aims to describe the epidemiology of unintentional non-fire related CO fatalities in the UK and to relate this information to sources of CO. Data from the CO-Gas Safety Society (COGSS) database was analysed and compared with data from the English House Condition Survey (EHCS). There were 462 deaths from the COGSS database, from 1 January 1996 to 31 December 2007 inclusive. The relative risk for death due to non-gas vs gas fuels was 10.52 (95% CI 7.71-14.34). The main weakness of the study is the likely under-ascertainment of CO deaths in the database. However, this study has identified specific risk factors for CO-related deaths in the UK; the use of non-gas fuels has not previously been highlighted as a significant cause of CO poisoning, and the relative risk (although not the absolute risk) of CO-related fatalities from these fuels is substantial.

Language: en