American Journal of Epidemiology Vol. 145, No. 12: 1089-1099
Copyright © 1997 by The Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health
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Fatal Occupational Injuries in a Southern State
1Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, NC
2Injury Prevention Research Center, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, NC
3Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, School of Public Hearth, University of North Carolina Chapei Hill, NC
4Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, North Carolina Department of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources Chapel Hill, NC
Reprint requests to Dr. Dana Loomis, Department of Epidemiology, CB 7400, School of Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7400.
Fatal occupational injuries were studied using data from medical examiners' reports in North Carolina for the years 1977–1991. Cases were defined as deaths due to accidents or homicide at the workplace, and populations at risk were estimated from the 1980 and 1990 US Censuses. Mortality rate ratios and proportionate mortality ratios were used as measures of association, and the population attributable risk percentage was used as an indicator of the burden of injury. Standard weights for direct age-adjustment of rates were obtained from the total state workforce. There were 2, 524 eligible deaths—83 percent from unintentional traumatic injuries, 14 percent from homicide, and the remainder from other causes. This report focuses on unintentional trauma deaths, which were strongly associated with the wood production, fishing, and transportation industries. Elderly, African-American, and self-employed workers had higher fatality rates than members of other groups. Among male workers, motor vehicle crashes were the principal cause of death on the job, followed by falling objects, machinery, and falls. The industries contributing the largest proportions of these deaths were construction, trucking, agriculture, and logging (population attributable risk percentages were 16.8%, 8.8%, 7.9%, and 6.9%, respectively). The fatality patterns of female workers were different: Numbers of deaths from homicide and unintentional trauma were equal, and 27% of the latter deaths occurred in one catastrophic fire. Decentralized and rural industries were the most hazardous, but many deaths were outside the current jurisdiction of occupational safety and health agencies. These patterns suggest that greater scrutiny of such industries, through both research and intervention, is warranted. Am J Epidemiol 1997; 145: 1089–99.
accidents, occupational; mortality; occupational health; southeastern United States; women, working; work; wounds and injuries
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