Incidence rates and risk factors for injury events in high school students in Lijin County, China

Problem: Most investigations of injuries among Chinese populations are focused on urban or better developed areas, fewer on rural or poor areas. Methods: From September 21 to 27, 2002, an epidemiological investigation of eight kinds of injury-related events was carried out among 1,944 students in 39 classes randomly sampled from middle schools in Lijin County, a rural area. The eight kinds of events were: (a) traffic accidents, (b) poisoning, (c) fall, (d) burn or scald, (e) blunt or sharp tools contact, (f) electrical contact, (g) animal or insect bites, and (h) non-fatal drowning. Results: The total incidence rate of eight kinds of injuries in the previous year was 21.1%. The incidence rate among boys was 24.2%, while that among girls was 17.4%, which was significant (chi-square= 13.4, P < 0.05). The incidence rate among junior high school students was 23.1%, while that among senior high school students was 15.5%, which was also significant (chi-square = 13.2, P < 0.05). A case-control study of 410 students with at least one of eight kinds of injury events indicated that students' gender and their mothers' health status were related to their injuries. Conclusion: The injury incidence rate in a rural area was less than other results in urban or developed areas. Students' gender and mothers' health status were important factors associated with the occurrence of injury. Impact on industry: In order to improve the surroundings of the growing population of adolescents, some preventive measures should be put forward, especially to the high-risk students of injury. (c) 2005 National Safety Council and Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.