Occupational injury mortality in New Mexico.

STUDY OBJECTIVE

To examine specific risks for occupational injury deaths in New Mexico.

DESIGN

Retrospective review of state medical investigator reports from 1980 through 1991 with regard to industry, agent of death, gender, ethnicity, location, and alcohol and other drug involvement.

PARTICIPANTS

New Mexico residents who were fatally injured while on the job.

RESULTS

We identified 613 deaths: 87.1% unintentional, 10.6% homicides, and 2.3% suicides. Industries with the most fatalities were construction (11.8%), oil/gas (10.6%), and farming (8.6%). The primary agents of death were motor vehicles (41.7%), firearms (10.1%), and falling objects (10.0%). Almost all (95.6%) of the decedents were male. However, females were overrepresented among homicide deaths (P < .0001). Most unintentional injuries occurred in rural areas (69.1%), whereas most homicides (73.4%) and suicides (71.4%) occurred in urban areas. Drug or alcohol use was evident in 19.4% of cases.

CONCLUSION

New Mexico has a high rate of occupational injury death, which appears to be associated with rural location and use of motor vehicles and alcohol.