Nonfatal injuries among middle-school and high-school students in Guangxi, China.

Abstract

We described nonfatal injuries and calculated injury rates among middle-school and high-school students in Guangxi, China. Students were selected using multistage randomizing techniques, and nonfatal injuries in 1840 students from February 2002 to January 2003 were monitored with standardized injury forms. Risk factors for injury were identified in multivariate analyses. The annual overall injury rate was 32.3 per 100 students. Boys had a significantly higher injury rate than the girls (34.8 vs 30.3 per 100 students), and a significantly higher proportion of injuries in boys was caused by other students (28.1% vs 19.4%). A higher proportion of injuries in girls (40.7%) occurred at home. For both boys and girls, sports were the most common activities associated with injury. Injuries from falls were the leading cause of injury, and extremities were most frequently injured. Gender, age, ethnicity, and family income levels were identified as significant risk factors for injury in multivariate analyses. Nonfatal injuries in middle-school and high-school students should be recognized as a significant public health concern in China.