OCCUPATIONAL INJURY MORTALITY IN NEW-MEXICO

Study objective: To examine specific risks for occupational injury dea ths in New Mexico. Design: Retrospective review of slate medical inves tigator reports from 1980 through 1991 with regard to industry, agent of death, gender, ethnicity, location, and alcohol and other drug invo lvement. Participants: New Mexico residents who were fatally injured w hile on the job. Results: We identified 613 deaths: 87.1% unintentiona l, 10.6% homicides, and 2.3% suicides. Industries with the most fatali ties were construction(11.8%), oil/gas (10.6%), and farming (8.6%). Th e primary agents of death were motor vehicles (41.7%), firearms (10.1% ), and falling objects (10.0%). Almost all (95.6%) oi the decedents we re male. However, females were overrepresented among homicide deaths ( P<.0001). Most unintentional injuries occurred in rural areas (69.1%), whereas most homicides (73.4%) and suicides (71.4%)occurred in urban areas. Drug or alcohol use was evident in 19.4% of cases. Conclusion: New Mexico has a high rate of occupational injury death, which appears to be associated with rural location and use of motor vehicles and al cohol.