Medical expenditures attributable to injuries--United States, 2000.

In the United States, injuries (i.e., unintentional and intentional) are the leading cause of death among persons aged <35 years and the fourth leading cause of death among persons of all ages. Injuries create a substantial burden on society in terms of medical resources used for treating and rehabilitating injured persons, productivity losses caused by morbidity and premature mortality, and pain and suffering of injured persons and their caregivers. To estimate annual injury-attributable medical expenditures in the United States, CDC analyzed data on injury prevalence and costs from the 2000 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) and the National Health Accounts (NHA). This report summarizes the results of that analysis, which indicated that injury-attributable medical expenditures cost as much as 117 billion dollars in 2000, approximately 10% of total U.S. medical expenditures. This finding underscores the need for innovative and effective interventions to prevent injuries.