Epidemiological characteristics of injury patients aged 60 years visiting hospital for the first time in Fuyang, Zhejiang,2011

Objective To understand the special epidemiological characteristics of injury in old people and provide evidence for the effective prevention and control of injury in old people. Methods The surveillance of injury in old people was conducted in 3 sentinel hospitals in Fuyang in 2011,the database was established with EpiData 3.02 software and descriptive analysis on the occurring place, type, severity of injury and the demographic characteristics of the injury patients was conducted with Excel 2003 and SPSS 13.0. Results A total of 1220 injury cases were reported in 2011. The male to female ratio of the cases was 1.37∶1. The mean age of male injury patients was 68.237.46 years and that of female injury patients was 69.147.97 years. The first 2 populations affected were farmers/fishermen (67.60%), migrant worker (21.70%). The first 4 injury occurring places were home (73.10%), working site (15.20%), street (5.20%) and road (3.06%). The first 5 injuries were caused by animal attack (44.80%), falling down (23.00%), blunt force strike (18.40%), cut (4.00%) and traffic accident (2.70%). The injuries occurred during leisure time, housework time and work time accounted for 58.20%, 19.30% and 16.80% respectively. Most injuries were unintentional ones (97.30%) and mild injuries and moderate injuries accounted for 82.50% and 17.10%, respectively. Conclusion Injury poses threat to old people's health. It is necessary to conduct injury prevention and control in old people in Fuyang.