title: Burden of fall injuries in Pakistan--analysis of the National Injury Survey of Pakistan.
abstract: There are no reliable estimates of the burden of fall-related injuries in Pakistan. To assess this burden and develop an epidemiologic profile for these injuries data from the National injury Survey of Pakistan, a cross-sectional population-based survey on injuries, were analysed to determine incidence and relative risks for fall injury. The annual incidence of fall-related injuries was 8.85 per 1000 population per year (95% CI: 6.8-11.3). The mean and median age of individuals injured by falls was 19 years and 10.5 years respectively. Children under the age of 15 years were at a substantially higher risk of fall injuries. Being a student and farmer/labourer/vendorwere associated with a higher risk for falls compared with unemployed. Fall-related injuries are a health burden in Pakistan, especially in children under 15 years of age. This represents a significant loss of healthy life and requires policies to curb this burden in the population.
authors.affiliation: lnternational Injury Research Unit, Department of lnternational Health, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, United States of America.
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Bachani
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ghaffar
authors.forename: A A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Hyder
mesh_terms: D000058:Accidental Falls / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D017281:Cost of Illness; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003625:Data Collection; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010154:Pakistan / Q000453:epidemiology; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology*; D055815:Young Adult