TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2017//
TI  - Injuries caused by pets in Asian urban households: a cross-sectional telephone survey
JO  - BMJ open
A1  - Chan, Emily Y. Y.
A1  - Gao, Yang
A1  - Li, Liping
A1  - Lee, Po Yi
SP  - e012813
EP  - e012813
VL  - 7
IS  - 1
N2  - OBJECTIVES: Little is known about pet-related injuries in Asian populations. This study primarily aimed to investigate the incidence rate of pet-related household injuries in Hong Kong, an urban Chinese setting. SETTING: Cantonese-speaking non-institutionalised population of all ages in Hong Kong accessible by telephone land-line. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 43 542 telephone numbers were dialled and 6570 residents successfully completed the interviews. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Data of pet-related household injuries in the previous 12 months, pet ownership and socio-demographic characteristics were collected with a questionnaire. Direct standardisation of the incidence rates of pet-related household injuries by gender and age to the 2009 Hong Kong Population Census was estimated. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to estimate risks of socio-demographic factors and pet ownership for the injury. <br><br>RESULTS: A total of 84 participants experienced pet-related household injuries in the past 12 months, with an overall person-based incidence rate of 1.28%. The majority of the victims were injured once (69.6%). Cats (51.6%) were the most common pets involved. Pet owners were at an extremely higher risk after controlling for other factors (adjusted OR: 52.0, 95% CI 22.1 to 98.7). Females, the unmarried, those with higher monthly household income and those living in lower-density housing were more likely to be injured by pets. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: We project a pet-related household injury incidence rate of 1.24% in the general Hong Kong population, with 86 334 residents sustaining pet-related injuries every year. Pet ownership puts people at extremely high risk, especially the unmarried. Further studies should focus on educating pet owners to reduce pet-related injuries in urban Greater China.<br><br>Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 2044-6055
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2016-012813
ID  - ref1
ER  -