Gender and Intentionality Disparities in the Epidemiology and Outcomes of Falls from Height in Korean Adults
Purpose This study investigated the characteristics of adult patients who had fallen from a height and presented to an emergency room (ER) according to gender and intentionality, with the goal of reducing the harm caused by these injuries. Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted of fall-from-...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Korean Society of Traumatology
2019-12-01
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| Series: | Journal of Trauma and Injury |
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| Online Access: | http://www.jtraumainj.org/upload/pdf/jti-2019-020.pdf |
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| author | Seung Uk Han Sun Pyo Kim Sun Hyu Kim Gyu Chong Cho Min Joung Kim Ji Sook Lee Chul Han |
| author_facet | Seung Uk Han Sun Pyo Kim Sun Hyu Kim Gyu Chong Cho Min Joung Kim Ji Sook Lee Chul Han |
| author_sort | Seung Uk Han |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Purpose This study investigated the characteristics of adult patients who had fallen from a height and presented to an emergency room (ER) according to gender and intentionality, with the goal of reducing the harm caused by these injuries. Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted of fall-from-height patients aged ≥19 years from the in-depth surveillance study of injured patients visiting ERs conducted under the supervision of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from 2011 to 2016. Patterns were analyzed according to gender and intentionality. Results There were 29,838 men (68.5%) and 13,734 women (31.5%), with mean ages of 50.3±15.7 years and 57.2±19.9 years, respectively. The most common height of the fall was ≥1 m to 4 m in men (n=15,863; 53.2%) and <1 m in women (n=7,293; 53.1%). The most common location where the fall occurred was the workplace for men (n=10,500 male; 35.2%) and residential facilities for women (n=7,755; 56.5%). Most falls from height were unintentional (n=41,765; 97.1% vs. n=1,264; 2.9% for intentional falls). Suicide was the most frequent reason for intentional falls, and the age group of 19–30 years predominated in this category (n=377; 29.9%). For intentional falls, the most common interval before presentation to the ER was 0–6 hours (n=370; 29.3%) and the most common height was ≥4 m (n=872; 69.0%). Conclusions Among men, falls from height most often occurred from ≥1 m to 4 m, at the workplace, and during the course of paid work, whereas among women, they were most common from <1 m, in residential facilities, and during daily activities. Intentional falls most often occurred with the purpose of suicide, in the age group of 19–30 years, with an interval of 0–6 hours until treatment, from ≥4 m, and in residential facilities. Alcohol consumption was more common in intentional falls. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-3b78cf46c6884214870ab6010be9d617 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1738-8767 2287-1683 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2019-12-01 |
| publisher | Korean Society of Traumatology |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Trauma and Injury |
| spelling | doaj-art-3b78cf46c6884214870ab6010be9d6172025-01-06T01:31:31ZengKorean Society of TraumatologyJournal of Trauma and Injury1738-87672287-16832019-12-0132422623710.20408/jti.2019.020996Gender and Intentionality Disparities in the Epidemiology and Outcomes of Falls from Height in Korean AdultsSeung Uk Han0Sun Pyo Kim1Sun Hyu Kim2Gyu Chong Cho3Min Joung Kim4Ji Sook Lee5Chul Han6 Department of Emergency Medicine, Chosun University Hospital, College of Medicine, Chosun University, Gwangju, Korea Department of Emergency Medicine, Chosun University Hospital, College of Medicine, Chosun University, Gwangju, Korea Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Ulsan, Korea Department of Emergency Medicine, School of Medicine, Hallym University, Seoul, Korea Department of Emergency Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea Department of Emergency Medicine, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon, Korea Department of Emergency Medicine, Ewha Womans University School of Medicine, Seoul, KoreaPurpose This study investigated the characteristics of adult patients who had fallen from a height and presented to an emergency room (ER) according to gender and intentionality, with the goal of reducing the harm caused by these injuries. Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted of fall-from-height patients aged ≥19 years from the in-depth surveillance study of injured patients visiting ERs conducted under the supervision of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from 2011 to 2016. Patterns were analyzed according to gender and intentionality. Results There were 29,838 men (68.5%) and 13,734 women (31.5%), with mean ages of 50.3±15.7 years and 57.2±19.9 years, respectively. The most common height of the fall was ≥1 m to 4 m in men (n=15,863; 53.2%) and <1 m in women (n=7,293; 53.1%). The most common location where the fall occurred was the workplace for men (n=10,500 male; 35.2%) and residential facilities for women (n=7,755; 56.5%). Most falls from height were unintentional (n=41,765; 97.1% vs. n=1,264; 2.9% for intentional falls). Suicide was the most frequent reason for intentional falls, and the age group of 19–30 years predominated in this category (n=377; 29.9%). For intentional falls, the most common interval before presentation to the ER was 0–6 hours (n=370; 29.3%) and the most common height was ≥4 m (n=872; 69.0%). Conclusions Among men, falls from height most often occurred from ≥1 m to 4 m, at the workplace, and during the course of paid work, whereas among women, they were most common from <1 m, in residential facilities, and during daily activities. Intentional falls most often occurred with the purpose of suicide, in the age group of 19–30 years, with an interval of 0–6 hours until treatment, from ≥4 m, and in residential facilities. Alcohol consumption was more common in intentional falls.http://www.jtraumainj.org/upload/pdf/jti-2019-020.pdffallheightgenderintentional |
| spellingShingle | Seung Uk Han Sun Pyo Kim Sun Hyu Kim Gyu Chong Cho Min Joung Kim Ji Sook Lee Chul Han Gender and Intentionality Disparities in the Epidemiology and Outcomes of Falls from Height in Korean Adults Journal of Trauma and Injury fall height gender intentional |
| title | Gender and Intentionality Disparities in the Epidemiology and Outcomes of Falls from Height in Korean Adults |
| title_full | Gender and Intentionality Disparities in the Epidemiology and Outcomes of Falls from Height in Korean Adults |
| title_fullStr | Gender and Intentionality Disparities in the Epidemiology and Outcomes of Falls from Height in Korean Adults |
| title_full_unstemmed | Gender and Intentionality Disparities in the Epidemiology and Outcomes of Falls from Height in Korean Adults |
| title_short | Gender and Intentionality Disparities in the Epidemiology and Outcomes of Falls from Height in Korean Adults |
| title_sort | gender and intentionality disparities in the epidemiology and outcomes of falls from height in korean adults |
| topic | fall height gender intentional |
| url | http://www.jtraumainj.org/upload/pdf/jti-2019-020.pdf |
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