Suelves Joanxich Josep M, Barberia Marcalain Eneko, Casadesús Valbí Josep M, Ortega Sánchez Marisa, Xifró Collsamata Alexandre
Agencia de Salud Pública de Cataluña; Departamento de Salud de la Generalitat de Catalunya. Barcelona. España.
Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC).Barcelona. España.
Rev Esp Salud Publica. 2024 Jun 5;98:e202406039.
Data on drownings tend to underestimate mortality from this cause. The objective of this study was to describe fatal drownings recorded in Catalonia between 2019 and 2022 through forensic sources, present their characteristics, and assess the utility of this information for monitoring drowning mortality.
A retrospective observational study based on the register of judicial deaths from the Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences of Catalonia was carried out. Data on medicolegal aetiology, aquatic environment, age, gender, date of death, and municipality of origin were analysed. Statistical analysis was based on the comparison of proportions test based on Chi-square for categorical variables and the Mann Whitney U test for the comparison of numerical variables.
A total of 310 drownings were recorded, with a mean age of 57.2 years and a male predominance (77.1%). The majority of drownings were unintentional (71.3%), followed by suicides (15.5%), and cases of undetermined intent (12.6%). Compared to intentional drownings, unintentional and undetermined intent drownings had a higher percentage of males than females (81.2% vs. 56%, p<0.001), and fewer cases with Spanish nationality than foreign or undetermined nationality (60% vs. 92%, p<0.001). Middle-aged and older individuals accounted for the majority of deaths, but among unintentional drownings, those recorded in pools included significantly higher percentages of children and adolescents aged zero-fourteen years than those occurring in natural waters.
The results highlight the importance of drowning mortality in Catalonia and the need to strengthen preventive activities, especially for children and during episodes of intense heat. Medicolegal sources are useful for monitoring drowning mortality, but it would be beneficial if they incorporated information on variables such as place of residence and nationality.
溺水数据往往低估了该原因导致的死亡率。本研究的目的是通过法医资料描述2019年至2022年加泰罗尼亚记录的致命溺水事件，呈现其特征，并评估这些信息对监测溺水死亡率的效用。
开展了一项基于加泰罗尼亚法律医学和法医学研究所司法死亡登记册的回顾性观察研究。分析了法医学病因、水环境、年龄、性别、死亡日期和原籍市的数据。统计分析基于分类变量的卡方比例比较检验和数值变量比较的曼-惠特尼U检验。
共记录了310起溺水事件，平均年龄为57.2岁，男性占主导（77.1%）。大多数溺水事件为意外（71.3%），其次是自杀（15.5%）和意图不明的案例（12.6%）。与故意溺水相比，意外和意图不明的溺水事件中男性比例高于女性（81.2%对56%，p<0.001），西班牙国籍的案例少于外国或国籍不明的案例（60%对92%，p<0.001）。中年及老年人占死亡人数的大多数，但在意外溺水中，游泳池记录的零至十四岁儿童和青少年比例明显高于自然水域发生的意外溺水。
结果凸显了加泰罗尼亚溺水死亡率的重要性以及加强预防活动的必要性，特别是针对儿童和酷热期间。法医资料对监测溺水死亡率有用，但如果纳入诸如居住地和国籍等变量的信息将更有益。
