NONFATAL INJURIES IN ADOLESCENTS - UNITED-STATES, 1988

Purpose: To describe the incidence and impact. of nonfatal injuries in a national sample of adolescents. Methods: Data were obtained from th e 1958 Child Health Supplement of the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). The NHIS is a continuous multistage probability sample of the civilian noninstitutionalized population of the United States, Adoles cents 10-17 years old (N = 7,470) of the total number of 17,110 childr en under 18 years of age in the survey were studied. Incidence rates ( I) were calculated for accidents, injuries, and poisonings (AIPs) requ iring medical attention in the previous 12 months and recalled by the adult household interviewee. Information on sociodemographic factors a nd impairment were reported, Sample weights were used to derive popula tion estimates. Results: In 1988, 4,505,000 adolescents 10-17 years ol d were estimated to have experienced AIPs in the previous 12 months (I = 16.1/100), resulting in 3.2 mean number days of bed rest; 4.1 mean number of days absent from school, and 20% with limited activity due t o AIPs. AIPs were most frequent in elder adolescents 14-17 years of ag e (I = 18.2/100), males (I = 20.3/100), whites (19.5/100), and Midwest U.S. residents (I = 18.1/100). The most frequent AIPs were cuts (I = 59.6/1000), sprains (I = 51.3/1,000), and broken bones (I = 43.1/1,000 ), AIPs most limiting to adolescents' activity were broken bones (62.6 %), head injuries (58.3%), and sprains (55,7%). Conclusions: Although injury is the leading cause of death in adolescence, it also Flays an important role in adolescent morbidity, Further national studies with better documentation of nonfatal injuries are needed to eliminate pote ntial recall bias associated with an interview survey.