title: Injuries and the risk of disability in teenagers and young adults.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the risk of disability from unintentional injury in teenagers and young adults.
  
  
  METHODS
  Analyses of data from the National Child Development Study, a follow up study of 98% of all children born in England, Scotland, and Wales in one week in March, 1958. In 1981, 12,537 study participants, 76% of the original cohort, were asked about unintentional injuries since age 16 years requiring hospital treatment, and whether these injuries resulted in permanent disability.
  
  
  RESULTS
  62% of men and 26% of women reported at least one accident since age 16 resulting in injury that required hospital treatment. Of these accidents, 3.2% caused permanent disability. The risk of disability increased with accident frequency. Injuries requiring hospital admission carried the highest risk of disability (9.7%). However, 54% of permanent disability reported by men and 74% reported by women resulted from injuries treated as outpatients. Road traffic accidents caused 42% of admissions and 31% of disability. Fractures constituted 21% of all injuries but were responsible for 32% of permanent disabilities. Of the permanent disabilities resulting from work related accidents, 82% involved the hand. Of the permanent disabilities resulting from accidents in the home, 32% involved the hand.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The targeting of prevention strategies towards the major causes of injury mortality may have a smaller impact on population levels of injury related disability. Non-life threatening injuries, in particular injuries to the hand and limb fractures, resulting from accidents in the workplace, the home, and during sports, make a significant contribution to the prevalence of permanent injury related disability in young adults.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Institute of Child Health, University of London.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Barker
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Power
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Roberts
mesh_terms: D000059:Accidents / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000553:Ambulatory Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006233:Persons with Disabilities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004739:England / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012307:Risk Factors; D012606:Scotland / Q000453:epidemiology; D017678:Sex Distribution; D014852:Wales / Q000453:epidemiology; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*