Synopsis for May 4, 2001

MMWR articles are embargoed until 4 p.m. E.S.T. Thursdays.

1. Prevalence of Arthritis — United States, 1997
2. Trends in Blood Lead Levels Among Children — Boston, Massachusetts, 1994–1999
3. National Estimates of Nonfatal Injuries Treated in Hospital Emergency Departments — United States, 2000

MMWR Backgrounder
May 4, 2001
Contact: CDC, Division of Media Relations
(404) 639-3286

The MMWR article published today by CDC provides national estimates of non-fatal injuries treated in hospital emergency departments. Data in this summary is the result of an enhancement of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS). The augmented system collects data about all types and external causes of non-fatal injuries and poisonings treated in U.S. hospital emergency departments, even those not associated with consumer products.

The NEISS All Injury Program (NEISS-AIP) began on July 1, 2000. The system will provide national estimates of non-fatal injuries within 6 months of collection, making this injury data set among the most current statistics available. NEISS-AIP data are collected by two-thirds (66) of the 100 hospital emergency departments that comprise NEISS. (a nationally representative sample of hospitals with emergency departments in the United States). The 66 hospitals involved in the NEISS-AIP include large inner-city hospitals with trauma centers as well as urban, suburban, rural and children’s hospitals.

CDC expects data from the NEISS-AIP to increase the knowledge of the characteristics and circumstances of injuries treated in U.S. hospital emergency departments. The data will help public health officials characterize and monitor trends in non-fatal injuries; identify emerging injury problems and persons at risk; and make program and policy decisions. Additionally, the NEISS-AIP will provide current information to the public.

NEISS-AIP hospitals will provide data about 600,000 injury-related cases, annually. Data from these cases can be weighted to provide national estimates of the nature and magnitude of different non-fatal injuries.

The enhanced system collects information about the age, race/ethnicity and gender of the injured person; the intent of injury and the mechanism of injury. It also collects data about the principal diagnoses, primary body part affected, locale where the injury occurred, whether the injury was work-related, whether and what consumer products were involved, and disposition when discharged by the emergency department.

The system also captures transportation-related injuries, including whether the injury was related to traffic and the individual’s status (driver, passenger, boarding, de-boarding) when a motor vehicle is involved.

For assaults, the system will provide data about the relationship of the perpetrator to the injured person (such as spouse, partner, parent, other relative, friend, stranger) and the context in which the injury occurred, for example during a disagreement, robbery, sexual assault, drug-related or gang-related event.

National estimates for the year 2000 using NEISS-AIP data (July 1-September 30, 2000) include the following:

• One of every 10 U.S. residents (31,000,000 injured persons) was treated in the emergency department.
  
  
• For every injury-related death in the United States, 200 persons were treated for injuries.
  
  
• The non-fatal injury rate was almost 40% higher for males than for females. Males aged 15-24 years have the highest rate, at 205 per 1,000 of population.
  
  
• Unintentional injuries accounted for 93.6% of the non-fatal injuries treated. The remaining 6.4% were violence related and included assaults (5.5%), intentional self-harm (0.7%), and legal interventions (0.2%).
  
  
• Falls were the leading cause of unintentional, non-fatal injuries. Falls accounted for 24.4% of all unintentional, non-fatal injury-related visits to emergency departments.
  
  
• 3,299,000 persons were injured as an occupant in a motor vehicle, and 95.2% of these injuries were traffic related.
  
  
• 389,000 persons were treated for dog bites.
  
  
• 150,000 persons were treated for suicide attempts related to poisoning. The rate of intentionally self-inflicted, non-fatal poisonings for females was 1.6 times that of males.
  
  
• Sexual assault was the 4th leading cause of violence-related, non-fatal injuries treated in hospital emergency departments. The non-fatal rate of sexual assault for females was 4.8 times higher than that for males.

MMWR Fact Sheet: Arthritis
May 4, 2001
Contact: CDC, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention
& Health Promotion
(770) 488-5131

• Arthritis, the leading cause of disability in the United States, is estimated to cost almost $65 billion annually in medical care and lost productivity.
  
  
• By the year 2020, 60 million men and women are expected to be affected by arthritis and 11.6 million are expected to have activity limitations from arthritis.
  
  
• In 1997, 43.1 million men and women of all ages had arthritis, up from 37.9 million in 1990. The numbers were estimated from analysis of data from the 1995 National Health Interview Survey and Bureau of Census population projections for 1997.
  
  
• About 7.9 million people—nearly 3% of the U.S. population—reported that arthritis limited their activities.
  
  
• More women then men reported having arthritis (26.8 million women compared with 16.4 million men)
  
  
• Women were also nearly twice as likely as men to report that arthritis limited their activities (5.5 million women compared with nearly 2.4 million men).
  
  
• Rates of arthritis increased with age.
  
  
• Supervised physical activity programs, weight loss, and self-management courses such as the Arthritis Self-Help Course have all been shown to reduce the occurrence or progression of arthritis.
  
  
• CDC currently funds 37 states for developing or enhancing programs to improve the quality of life of people having arthritis.

Synopsis for May 4, 2001

Prevalence of Arthritis — United States, 1997

Effective interventions are available to reduce the pain and disability of many types of arthritis.

In 1997, an estimated 43.1 million Americans of all ages reported having arthritis and an estimated 7.9 million persons—2.9 percent of the U.S. population—reported having activity limitations. Arthritis has increased by almost three-quarters of a million persons every year since 1990; by 2020, 11.6 million Americans are expected to be limited by arthritis. Interventions are available to reduce the pain and disability of many types of arthritis. Available interventions include physical activity, weight loss, and self-management education courses such as the Arthritis Self-Help Course. CDC currently funds programs in 37 state health departments to improve the quality of life of persons affected by arthritis. May is National Arthritis Month. Arthritis is among the most prevalent diseases and is the most frequent causes of disability in the United States.

Trends in Blood Lead Levels Among Children — Boston, Massachusetts, 1994–1999

CDC and the Boston Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program performed a yearly analysis of blood lead levels (BLLs) among children 6–72 months old in Boston.

The analysis was conducted to determine if trends in the city were similar to national trends and to determine whether the change over time within the city was similar in high- and low-risk neighborhoods. The number of children aged 6-72 months screened annually in Boston declined from 35,304 (73.3% of population <6 years) in 1994 to 27,233 (61.6% of population <6 years) in 1999, a 23% decrease. The overall prevalence of children with BLLs >=10 ug/dL declined consistently during 1994-1999 from 9.3% (3,265) to 5.1% (1,398), a 45% decrease, similar to the trends in BLLs reported in national data. The decline in BLLs has affected all Boston neighborhoods, however neighborhoods with the highest BLLs in 1994 also remained the highest in 1999. These high-risk neighborhoods are characterized by higher proportions of minority children, children living in poverty, and vacant properties.

National Estimates of Nonfatal Injuries Treated in Hospital Emergency Departments — United States, 2000

This report finds that in 2000, an estimated 31,000,000 persons (one in every 10 U.S. residents) were treated for nonfatal injuries in hospital emergency departments.

Therefore, for every injury-related death in the United States, there were approximately 200 persons treated for nonfatal injuries in U.S. hospital emergency departments. Over 93% of these nonfatal injuries were unintentional; however, almost 2 million person were treated for violence-related injuries, including assaults, intentionally self-inflicted injuries, and legal interventions. While falls accounted for one-fourth of unintentional injuries, physical assault from being purposely hit with an object or by another person accounted for two-thirds of the violence-related injuries. Males 15-24 years of age had the highest nonfatal injury rate. These data are from a recent enhancement of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission's National Electronic Injury Surveillance System.

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