Investigation of the Leading Causes of Injury and Violence in South-East Iran

Introduction: Injuries and violence are significant causes of death and health problems in all countries; however, they are not equally distributed across the world or within countries. Injuries result from road traffic crashes, falls, drowning, burns, poisoning, and acts of violence against oneself or others, among other causes. The present study aimed to describe the causes, their characteristics, frequencies, types, and outcomes of the injuries reported to the Forensic Medicine Center, Zahedan, Iran. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in the Forensic Medicine Center, Zahedan, South-East Iran. A total of ۱۴۰۰ intentional and unintentional injuries were systematically extracted from the administrative records between January ۱, ۲۰۰۸, and December ۳۱, ۲۰۱۸. The data were analyzed using the Chi-square test and multiple logistic regression models. Furthermore, the Stata statistical software (version ۱۴; StataCorp, USA) was used for all analyses. Results: In this study, three major causes of injuries included accident, fight, and burn in the order of priority. The overall frequencies of intentional and unintentional injuries among the subjects were ۴۰.۳% and ۵۹.۷%, respectively. Moreover, death occurred in ۴۵.۶% of the cases. Here, the odds of death in unintentional injuries were more than those in intentional ones (P<۰.۰۰۱). Multiple logistic regression modeling showed that increasing age (P=۰.۰۰۱), education level (P<۰.۰۰۱), holiday time (P=۰.۰۲), and urban setting (P=۰.۰۲) for injury were associated with increased odds of intentional injuries. Conclusion: According to the results, younger age groups were more likely to be injured, compared to other categories. Therefore, it is necessary to implement any planning and prioritization for the reduction of family injuries and violence in school education by instructing this age group regarding injuries and their health risk consequences. Decision-makers should focus their attention on the issue locally. The implications of this study could be highly influential to identify intervention opportunities and determine local and cultural problematic health issues.

Keywords:

Epidemiology , Intentional Self-Injury , Violence