Analysis on mortality rate of unintentional poisoning in children in China, 2004-2010

Objective To discuss the epidemiological characteristics of the mortality rate of unintentional poisoning in children in China, and provide evidences for the prevention and control of unintentional poisoning in children. Methods The data of unintentional poisoning in children from disease surveillance points system (DSP) from 2004 to 2010 were analyzed.Excel 2010 and SPSS 18.0 software were used for analyses. Results The average mortality rate of unintentional poisoning in children was (1.150.14)/100 000, which decreased from 1.32/100 000 in 2004 to 1.10/100 000 in 2010. The mortality rate was 1.23/100 000 in boys and 1.06/100 000 in girls, and 0.85/100 000 in urban area and 1.29/100 000 in rural area. The mortality rate in eastern, middle, western areas were 1.67/100 000, 1.15/100 000 and 1.69/100 000 respectively. The mortality rate was highest in age group 0 year, followed by age groups 1-years and 15-17 years. Conclusion The mortality rate of unintentional poisoning in children declined during 2004-2010, but the mortality rates in infants, in rural area, and in economic less-developed areas in western China were still at high level. It is necessary to develop specific poisoning prevention and control strategies targeting key areas and key populations to decrease the incidence of diseases or deaths caused by unintentional poisoning.