Burden of fatal and non-fatal Injuries: Global and Regional perspectives

Abstract

Background:  Traumatic injury is a growing public health concern and a leading cause of death and disability worldwide.

Aim: A review of burden of Injury on global level and its regional distribution.

Methods: Desk research has been conducted based on publications in PubMed and Medline.

Results: Globally, three of the top five major causes of death in people aged 5 to 29 years are related to injuries, particularly road injuries, homicide and suicide. Drowning is the sixth major cause of death among children aged 5 to 14 years. Falls cause more than 684,000 deaths each year and are a growing but under-recognized public health problem. Violence and injuries account for 10 per cent of all years spent with disability. Injuries are the fifth leading cause of death worldwide. The distribution of traumatic injuries across the regions of the world varies significantly in terms of incidence and mechanisms. Injury deaths in low- and middle-income countries in the European region are twice as high as in high-income countries, and in the CIS countries they are four times higher than in the Nordic countries. Almost 90% of injury and violence-related deaths fall for low- and middle-income countries.

Conclusion. The majority of studies related to traumatic injuries are conducted in high-income countries, which confirms the need to study the epidemiology of such injuries in Georgia (including road injuries, falls and other injuries) in order to develop appropriate recommendations for intervention strategies to prevent and reduce the burden of injury.