Unintentional Injury Statistics
The following are the latest US statistics available from the National Center for Health Statistics, part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and other sources:
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Unintentional injuries continue to be the fifth leading cause of death overall, and the leading cause of death for those under 35 years of age.
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Sixty-five percent of injury deaths were classified as unintentional, 20 percent were suicides, and 13 percent were homicides.
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The top three causes of fatal unintentional injuries include motor vehicle crashes (41.8 percent), falls (14.8 percent), and poisoning (13.9 percent).
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Suffocation was the leading mechanism of unintentional injury death among infants.
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In 2006, 43,664 motor vehicle related deaths occurred.
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In 2006, 27,531 unintentional poisoning deaths occurred.
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In 2006, 20,823 unintentional falls deaths occurred.
Online Source:
National Center for Health Statistics
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/acc-inj.htm
Online Editor:
Daphne Pierce-Smith, RN, MSN, CCRC, FNP
Online Medical Reviewer:
Kelley Gaskin, RN, MSN, CPNP
Online Medical Reviewer:
Sara M. Foster, RN, MPH
Date Last Reviewed:
7/10/2009
Date Last Modified:
7/23/2009