The role of socioeconomic status and injury morbidity risk in adolescents.
OBJECTIVE
To examine the patterns of socioeconomic status and injury morbidity in adolescents.


METHODS
Prospective cohort study.


METHODS
Metropolitan school district in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.


METHODS
There were 1245 students (89%) recruited from 1400 aged 12 to 16 years.


METHODS
None.


RESULTS
Baseline variables of socioeconomic status used for this analysis included township of residence (from the 1990 census data ranked by the percentage of households below the poverty level) and employment status of the parents (student self-report). Life-table analysis revealed no differential risk of injury by socioeconomic status. Similar results were found when stratified by gender, race, injury type (sport vs nonsport), and injury place (school vs home).


CONCLUSIONS
The results indicate that in this cohort of adolescents, socioeconomic status does not seem to be a contributing risk factor for injury.
Anderson
R
R
Department of Epidemiology, University of Pittsburgh, PA.
Dearwater
S R
SR
Olsen
T
T
Aaron
D J
DJ
Kriska
A M
AM
LaPorte
R E
RE
D000293:Adolescent; D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000367:Age Factors; D001265:Athletic Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D015993:Life Tables; D008297:Male; D009017:Morbidity; D010414:Pennsylvania; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D012923:Social Class; D014505:Urban Population; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000145:classification / Q000191:economics / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology