November 12, 2001—More than 97,000 people died of preventable injuries in the United States last year, according to Injury Facts 2001, the National Safety Council (NSC)‘s 81st annual report of injury statistics, released October 19, 2001.
The report shows that unintentional injuries are the fifth leading cause of death in the United States, exceeded only by heart disease, cancer, stroke, and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases. Unintentional injuries continue to be the leading cause of death among people aged 1-34. Nonfatal injuries also affect millions of Americans, resulting in 20.5 million disabling injuries annually.
In this edition of Injury Facts, a consolidated Home and Community section addresses more special topics. For example, the 2000 statistics indicate that 29,500 people died from unintentional injuries in the home and community, 9,300 of them from falls. The topic of falls receives special emphasis with a table showing the estimated number of fall-related episodes by the type of fall for sex and age groups.
Among the fall-related deaths that occurred in the home or on home premises, about 80% were to people over 65. Falls are the number one cause of injury-related death for males 80 and older and for females 75 and older.
The NSC notes that, although some people think that accidents in the home and community are unavoidable, research shows that injuries result from hazardous conditions, which can be corrected, and unsafe behaviors, which can be changed.
