Comparative analysis of characteristics and risk factors of traffic injury in aged people from urban and rural areas in Chongqing.
OBJECTIVE
To study the epidemiologic characteristics of traffic injuries among people over 60 years old in the Nan'an district (urban) and Jiangjin district (rural) of Chongqing, and to discuss the corresponding strategies for its prevention and cure.


METHODS
Records of traffic injuries in people over 60 years old registered by the traffic police between 2000 and 2006 in Nan'an district and Jiangjin district were collected in the Database of Road Traffic Accidents and Traffic Injuries. Epidemiologic characteristics of traffic injuries among the aged people were analyzed and compared.


RESULTS
Between the year 2000 and 2006, the average annual incidence of traffic injuries and mortality rate in the aged people in Nan'an district were 124.62/100 000 and 13.85/ 100 000 respectively, higher than that in Jiangjin district (27.49/ 100 000, 7.13/100 000, P less than 0.01). However, the mortality rate for the aged people who were involved in traffic injuries in Jiangjin district was 20.60%, higher than that in Nan'an district (10.00%, P less than 0.01). Head injury was the primary cause of death. Totally 76.58% of casualties were pede-strians. Over 90% of the traffic accidents occurred in the areas with no traffic signal or traffic control system.


CONCLUSIONS
The traffic environment is unfavorable to the aged people. It is important to enhance traffic safety consciousness of drivers and the elderly and to strengthen traffic safety system and traffic law, so as to provide a safe road traffic environment for the aged people.
State Key Laboratory of Trauma, Burns and Combined injury, Institute of Surgery Research/Daping Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing 400042, China.
Liang
L
Zhang
Ji-Hong
JH
Zhou
Jun
J
Qiu
Xiu-Zhu
XZ
Zhang
Dan-Feng
DF
Yuan
Zhi-Ming
ZM
Gao
Wei
W
Dai
D000063:Accidents, Traffic; D006259:Craniocerebral Trauma / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D012307:Risk Factors; D014947:Wounds and Injuries