Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Sciences, University of Tsukuba.
Department of Health Services Research, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba.
J Epidemiol. 2021 May 5;31(5):356-360. doi: 10.2188/jea.JE20200057. Epub 2020 Jun 13.
With increasing age globally, more people may become vulnerable to food choking. We investigated the nationwide epidemiology of food choking deaths in Japan.
Using Japanese Vital Statistics death data between 2006 and 2016, we identified food choking deaths based on the 10th revision of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases code W79 (Inhalation and ingestion of food causing obstruction of respiratory tract) as a primary diagnosis. We assessed the demographics of people with food choking deaths; temporal trends of food choking deaths by the year (overall and by age group), the day of year; and prefecture variations.
Overall, 52,366 people experienced food choking deaths (median age, 82 years, 53% were male, and 57% occurred at home). The highest numbers occurred January 1-3, and were lowest in June. Despite a stable total number of cases at around 4,000 yearly, from 2006 to 2016 the incidence proportion declined from 16.2 to 12.1 per 100,000 population among people aged 75-84 years. Among people ≥85 years, the incidence proportion peaked at 53.5 in 2008 and decreased to 43.6 in 2016. The number of food choking deaths varied by prefecture.
There are temporal and regional variations of food choking deaths in Japan, possibly due to the consumption of Japanese rice cake (mochi), particularly over the New Year's holiday.
随着全球人口老龄化的加剧，可能会有更多的人易发生食物哽噎。本研究旨在调查日本全国范围内因食物哽噎导致的死亡流行病学情况。
利用日本 2006 年至 2016 年期间的人口动态统计死亡数据，根据国际疾病分类第 10 次修订版（ICD-10）的 W79 编码（吸入和咽下食物导致呼吸道阻塞）将食物哽噎死亡作为主要诊断进行分类。本研究评估了食物哽噎死亡者的人口统计学特征；每年（总体和各年龄组）、每年中每天以及各都道府县的食物哽噎死亡时间趋势；以及各都道府县的差异。
总体而言，52366 人发生了食物哽噎死亡（中位数年龄 82 岁，53%为男性，57%发生在家里）。1 月 1 日至 3 日发生的死亡人数最多，6 月最少。尽管每年的总死亡人数稳定在 4000 人左右，但 2006 年至 2016 年，75-84 岁人群的发病率从 16.2/10 万下降至 12.1/10 万；≥85 岁人群的发病率在 2008 年达到峰值 53.5/10 万，随后在 2016 年下降至 43.6/10 万。各都道府县的食物哽噎死亡人数存在差异。
日本的食物哽噎死亡存在时间和地域差异，可能与日本年糕（mochi）的食用有关，特别是在新年假期期间。
