TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2004//
TI  - The role of hypothermia and drowning in commercial fishing deaths in Alaska, 1990-2002
JO  - International journal of circumpolar health
A1  - Hudson, Diana Stark
A1  - Conway, G.
SP  - 357
EP  - 360
VL  - 63
IS  - Suppl 2
N2  - OBJECTIVES: To describe the patterns associated with cold-water immersion and drowning in commercial fishermen in Alaska from 1990 through 2002. STUDY DESIGN: This is a retrospective study using data from the Alaska Occupational Surveillance System (AOISS), a database with records from all occupational mortalities occurring in Alaska from 1990 on. METHODS: We extracted and analyzed all records describing deaths from drowning or hypothermia to commercial fishermen in Alaska from 1990 through 2002 that were registered within AOISS. We also used a subset of records from AOISS to compare use of Personal Flotation Devices (PFDs) between the target population and survivors of fatal events. RESULTS: There were 228 deaths resulting from cold-water immersion and subsequent drowning in the target population for the time period studied. Victims were far less likely to have used PFDs than were survivors of events where cold-water drowning occurred. CONCLUSION: The strong protective association seen with the use of PFDs, particularly immersion suits, in surviving cold-water events indicates that many of the events that led to deaths in the target population could well have been survivable.
LA  - 
SN  - 1239-9736
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/
ID  - ref1
ER  -