| |
INJURY
Although many injuries are preventable, in 2000 there
were 40.4 million visits to emergency departments (ED)
due to
injuries, representing a 7.4 percent increase from 1999
(37.6 million). Overall, females accounted for 45 percent
of these
injury-related ED visits. Among females with injury-related
ED visits, the greatest proportion (31.0 percent), were
among women aged 25-44.
In 2000, the overall number of injury-related
visits to EDs per 100 persons per year was 14.8, with
a rate of 13.0
for
females and 16.6 for males. For persons aged 44 and younger,
males had a higher rate of injury-related ED visits per
year than females, with the gender disparity particularly
large
for persons under 15. However, gender differences were
minimal among persons aged 45-74, while females aged
75 and older
displayed a higher rate of injury-related ED visits per
year than males. Among females, the rate of injuries
resulting in an ED visit was highest for women aged 75
and older,
with
the second highest rate among females aged 15-24.
Falls
are a leading cause of injury in women, especially among
women aged 65 and older. Other injuries commonly
resulting in an ED visit result from being struck by
or against a person
or object, car crashes, overexertion, and cuts.1
 [d]
 [d]
1Warner
M, Barnes PM, and Fingerhut LA. Injury and poisoning episodes
and conditions, National Health Interview Survey, 1997.
Vital Health Stat 10(202), 2000. [Back]
|
