Unintentional injury deaths in an adult Finnish population from 1971-1997

We investigated the trends in age-standardized rates (per 100,000 persons-y ears) of unintentional injury deaths in adult Finns from 1971-1997. In 1971 , the leading category of unintentional injury resulting in death among Fin nish men was road traffic accidents (age-standardized death rate 47 per 100 ,000 person-years). This rate has declined sharply, reaching 13 per 100,000 person-years in 1997. Simultaneously, the rate of fall-induced death among men gradually increased from 17/100,000 person-years in 1971 to 21/100,000 person-years in 1997. In 1997 the death rate from falls in men was greater than that of any other category of injury. In 1971, traffic caused fewer d eaths in women (rate 17/100,000 person-years) than men, and declined from t here to a rate of 6/100,000 person-years in 1997. Concurrently the rate of fall-induced deaths in women also decreased, from 27/100,000 person years i n 1971 to 17/100,000 person-years in 1997. Falling, however, was the leadin g cause of injury related death in 1997, Thus, in the period 1971-1997, fal ls replaced road traffic accidents as the leading cause of unintentional in jury death in Finland.