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Abstract
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BACKGROUND: We aimed to examine changes in the specificity of data recording and assess the impact on cause-specific injury mortality during 1999-2010.
METHODS: A longitudinal study was designed to analyze injury mortality data of 1999-2010. Mortality rates for unspecified injury and for cause-specific injury were obtained using CDC's Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARSTM). The proportion of unspecified injury was used to measure the specificity of injury data recording. We used the proportionate method to adjust data specificity and compared changes in cause-specific mortality before and after adjustment.
RESULTS: Between 1999 and 2010, the age-adjusted mortality from unspecified injuries decreased from 3.4 to 2.5 per 100,000 persons for all ages. The proportion of unspecified unintentional injury decreased from 18.9% to 10.9% for the elderly ages 65+. The proportion of unspecified homicide significantly increased for all age groups except ages 25-44 years. After adjustment, increases in age-adjusted mortality rates from falls, poisoning and drowning were less (77 vs. 61%, 66 vs. 51%, and 9 vs. 0%) and decreases in injuries from motor vehicle crashes, suffocation, fire/burn, and natural/environmental disasters were greater (-30 vs. -37%, -17 vs. -24%, -23 vs. -24%, and -46 vs. -51%), respectively. The adjustment resulted in reversed changes in homicide by firearm (-1 vs. 5%) and cut/pierce (-5 vs. 2%), greater increases in homicide by suffocation (9 vs. 16%) for ages 45-64 years, and smaller decreases in all other age- and cause-specific homicide groups.
CONCLUSIONS: During 1999-2010, the specificity of data recording changed significantly for homicide rates and elderly unintentional injury mortality and the changes altered trends in cause-specific injury mortality.
Language: en |