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Affiliation
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Injury Prevention Center, Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA. |
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Abstract
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Presentation at the 39th Annual Convention of the Korean Society of Preventive Medicine, November 5, 1987, Cheju-do, Korea.
Injuries are a leading health problem of Korea. For all ages combined, accidental injuries are the fourth leading cause of death. Among males, accidental injuries rank third after cerebrovascular disease and hypertensive disease, with suicide ranking tenth. In addition to deaths, the morbidity and permanent disability from injuries represent a tremendous loss of productivity, as well as suffering for the injured and high costs to society.
Injuries are the leading cause of death in Korea for ages 1 - 44. As a result of the importance of injury in children and young adults as a cause of premature mortality, the potential years of life lost because of injury in Korea are more than double the loss because of any disease. Among children age 1 - 4, 1,356 (29 percent) of the 4,050 deaths in 1985 were due to accidental injury. Thus, almost one out of three deaths in this age group was due to injury.
The report from the presentation stresses that injuries are predictable and that there are differences in occurrence that reflect economic, geographic, and urban / rural variation. Although "being careful" is important, it isn't enough to prevent most injuries. |