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 All targets were set in Europe to reduce unintentional injuries by 25% and reverse 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 injuries between 1984 and 1993 in the 15 countries which are currently members 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 examined over time. Results: Downward trends in age-standardized injury mortality due to unintentional injuries were identified in most countries. Marked variations were observed between countries, with low rates in the UK, The Netherlands and Sweden and high rates in Finland, Portugal and France. Age-standardized suicide rates decreased in most countries over the study period, with marked variations between countries. In general, countries in northern Europe experienced higher suicide rates than countries in southern Europe. Mortality rates due to homicide and other violent causes were low and relatively stable over the study period. Conclusions: Most countries appear 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 practices of data collection, coding and analysis would improve the comparability of data between countries.