Injury mortality in the European Union 1984-1993 - An overview

Background: Approximately 190,000 European Union (EU) citizens die annually as a result of an injury. In response, the European Commission identified accidents and injuries as a priority area for action in the field of public health in 1993. In 1984, the World Health Organization (WHO) Health for Al l targets were set in Europe to reduce unintentional injuries by 25% and re verse the rising trends in suicide by the year 2000. The aim of this study was to examine the trends in mortality due to externally caused physical in juries between 1984 and 1993 in the 15 countries which are currently member s of the EU. Methods: Injury mortality data for all countries were obtained from the WHO and national government agencies. Age-standardized mortality rates were calculated for both unintentional and intentional injuries and e xamined over time. Results: Downward trends in age-standardized injury mort ality due to unintentional injuries were identified in most countries. Mark ed variations were observed between countries, with low rates in the UK, Th e Netherlands and Sweden and high rates in Finland, Portugal and France. Ag e-standardized suicide rates decreased in most countries over the study per iod, with marked variations between countries. In general, countries in nor thern Europe experienced higher suicide rates than countries in southern Eu rope. Mortality rates due to homicide and other violent causes were low and relatively stable over the study period. Conclusions: Most countries appea r to be on track to meet the WHO targets for unintentional injury mortality and suicide mortality. However, disparities between countries remain, for reasons that are unclear. While mortality data were valuable in describing the epidemiology of fatal injury in Europe, agreement on standardized pract ices of data collection, coding and analysis would improve the comparabilit y of data between countries.