title: Poisonings in the Nordic countries in 2007: a 5-year epidemiological follow-up.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To map mortality and morbidity of poisonings in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden in 2007 and undertake a comparison with a corresponding study in 2002.
  
  
  METHODS
  Morbidity was as for 2002 defined as acute poisoning (ICD-10 codes, main and subsidiary diagnoses) treated in hospitals. The figures were extracted from the National Patient/Hospital Registers. Deaths recorded as acute poisoning (using corresponding ICD-10 codes) were collected from the National Cause of Death Registers.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Annual mortality of acute poisonings per 100,000 inhabitants (rate) for 2007 was 22.4 in Finland, an important increase from 16.7 per 100,000 in 2002. The increase was mainly due to a change in coding of alcohol, but also represented a slight increase in fatal alcohol intoxications per se. The poisoning death rate in the other Nordic countries varied between 8-13 and was at the same level as for 2002. The morbidity rates for 2007 between 158-285 per 100,000 inhabitants represented a slight increase compared to 2002 figures.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The increase in poisoning death rate for alcohol, and thus total rate in Finland in 2007 compared to 2002, has further increased the gap to the other Nordic countries. Poisoning morbidity rates in the Nordic countries are of the same level, but the variability shown indicates that more harmonization and collaboration is needed to increase the data quality.
authors.affiliation: Poisons Information, Norwegian Directorate of Health, PO Box 7000, St Olavs plass, Oslo, 0130 Norway. era@helsedir.no
authors.forename: Erik
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Andrew
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tellerup
authors.forename: Anna-Mariia
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Termälä
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Jacobsen
authors.forename: Gudborg A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Gudjonsdottir
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D002423:Cause of Death / Q000639:trends; D062787:Drug Overdose; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland / Q000453:epidemiology; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D007055:Iceland / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D009017:Morbidity; D011039:Poison Control Centers / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011041:Poisoning / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012042:Registries; D012537:Scandinavian and Nordic Countries / Q000453:epidemiology; D015996:Survival Rate