Socioeconomic variation in injury in children and older people: a population based study.
OBJECTIVE
To compare hospital admission rates for all causes and specific causes of injury in children and the elderly by a measure of economic deprivation.


METHODS
All emergency admissions for Welsh residents from 1997-99 were located to one of 865 electoral tracts, which were grouped into fifths using a measure of socioeconomic deprivation. Standardised admission rates for all ages and 0-14, 15-75, and 75+ year groups for each quintile were calculated with 95% confidence intervals.


RESULTS
There were 90 935 admissions in a population of 2.84 million yielding a crude admission rate of 1601/100 000/year and a standardised rate of 1493/100 000. The ratio of admissions in deprived and affluent areas varied with category of injury and age group. In general, socioeconomic variations in injury rates were much smaller in older people than in children with the exception of pedestrian related injuries where the rates were similar. The largest variations were for injuries sustained in assaults or self inflicted.


CONCLUSIONS
The relationship between socioeconomic position and injury varies by cause and age group. This should be considered when developing area based preventive interventions or monitoring the effectiveness of policies to reduce inequalities in injury occurrence.
Lyons
R A
RA
Department of Epidemiology, Statistics and Public Health, University of Wales College of Medicine, Cardiff and Centre for Postgraduate Studies, Clinical School, University of Wales Swansea, Swansea, Wales, UK. r.a.lyons@swansea.ac.uk
Jones
S J
SJ
Deacon
T
T
Heaven
M
M
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008875:Middle Aged; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014852:Wales / Q000453:epidemiology; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology*