4.1: Introduction to Intentional and Unintentional Injuries
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Throughout the world, injuries, both unintentional and violence-related, take the lives of 4.4 million people each year (nearly 8% of all deaths). For people ages 5-29, three of the top five causes of death are injury-related. In the United States, unintentional injuries are the leading cause of death in children, adolescents, and adults younger than 45 years. In 2018, unintentional injuries were the cause of 24.8 million people to visit their doctor and 97.9 million to visit the emergency room with an additional 1.2 million visited the emergency room due to an assault. Unintentional injuries ranked as the 4th overall leading cause of death in 1980, increased to the 3rd leading cause of death by 2018, and moved back to 4th in 2020 when COVID took the 3rd ranking. Some good news is that data from 1950-2018 show a reduction in deaths due to unintentional injuries from 78 per 100,000 to 48 per 100,000, however homicide has remained relatively the same from 5.1 to 5.9 per 100,000 people [1] .
Injuries and violence cost billions of dollars each year in health care costs, lost productivity and law enforcement. There are also numerous costs to personal well-being including:
- Premature death
- Years of potential life lost
- Disability and disability-adjusted life years lost
- Poor mental health
- Increased risk of suicide
- High medical costs
- Lost productivity
- Chronic diseases like heart disease, diabetes and cancer
- Social problems such as poverty, crime and violence
Both intentional and unintentional injuries are public health concerns that are addressed worldwide and in the U.S. The National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC) was launched in 1992 to focus specifically on injuries as an important topic for public health. The NCIPC, along with the CDC and NIH, provide research-based evidence and resources to meet goals to reduce injuries.
| Cause of Death | Number of Deaths | Deaths per 100,000 people |
| Unintentional fall deaths | 42,112 | 12.8 |
| Motor Vehicle traffic deaths | 40,698 | 12.4 |
| Unintentional Poisoning deaths | 87,404 | 26.5 |
| All poisoning deaths | 97,034 | 29.5 |
| Firearm homicides | 19,384 | 5.9 |
| All firearm deaths | 45,222 | 13.7 |
| All homicide deaths | 24,576 | 7.5 |
| Firearm suicides | 24,292 | 7.4 |
| Suffocation suicides | 12,495 | 3.8 |
| Poisoning suicides | 5,528 | 1.7 |
| All suicides | 45,979 | 14.0 |
| All injury deaths | 278,345 | 84.5 |
| All unintentional deaths | 200,995 | 61 |