Washington, DC (December 18, 2006) – New research on fatal poisonings in New Jersey, which can help identify prevention strategies, was published in the journal Injury Prevention. A coalition of health and welfare, violence and suicide prevention, and law enforcement advocates today hailed the study, along with several others drawn on data from the National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) to identify patterns of violent death in America.
“The information we can learn from NVDRS is invaluable when it comes to our ability to address and prevent violent deaths,” said Neal D. Kohatsu, M.D., M.P.H., F.A.C.P.M., president of the American College of Preventive Medicine, a member of the coalition. “This system effectively links existing data to create a critical public health tool to learn more about, and prevent, homicides and suicides.”
Among the findings of the New Jersey study:
- Intention — The circumstances of unintentional and intentional poisonings differed significantly. There are more than three times as many unintentional poisonings deaths (e.g. accidental overdose) as suicides by poisoning in the state. Poisoning is the second leading cause of death by unintentional injury, exceeded only by car crashes.
- Gender — Men were found to be nearly four times more likely to die from unintentional poisoning than women. Men were also found to be more likely to die from unintentional poisoning than by suicide by poisoning. Victims of unintentional poisonings are more likely to be male, non-white, young illegal drug users than those who succumb to suicide.
- Physical Health — Among poisoning deaths, approximately 20 percent of unintentional poisonings and 25 percent of suicides by poison had a physical health problem, according to a New Jersey study. Poisoning deaths for those with a physical health problem disproportionately involved oxycodone. Those with physical health problems were more likely to be female and averaged five years older than their male counterparts.
- Mental Health — Only 10 percent of cases cited neither prior mental health issues nor substance abuse problems; 20 percent had both.
- Drug Use — About 70 percent of poisoning deaths involve illicit drugs, with heroin and cocaine used most (each was used in about 40 percent of cases, and used together in 15 percent of cases). Use of pharmaceutical drugs was more common in suicides and illegal drugs were more commonly used in unintentional overdoses.
The Injury Prevention studies drew on data from NVDRS, a database constructed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. To date, 17 states in the U.S., including New Jersey have begun tracking details of violent deaths via NVDRS. Sixteen additional states and territories have expressed an interest in participating in NVDRS. Lack of funding has held up full implementation of the database in all 50 states, which is estimated to cost $20 million per year to maintain.
NVDRS currently includes identifying characteristics about victims and perpetrators of violent deaths, their relationship, plus information about location, weapons, presence of alcohol or drugs, and other factors. There are approximately 50,000 violent deaths each year in the United States.
The benefits of NVDRS data for states are already evident, even though the program is still in its early stages. NVDRS states are using the data to identify prevention opportunities, revitalize the strategic planning process, and forge partnerships for prevention initiatives. For example, New Jersey can use this information to craft prevention strategies involving substance abuse treatment, drug interdiction and attempts to reduce the purity of the substances since illicit drugs, namely cocaine and heroin, are main factors involved in fatal poisonings in the state.
For a copy of the full text of the Injury Prevention supplement, visit http://ip.bmj.com/
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