Intentional and unintentional injuries in women. An overview.

Injuries are the leading cause of death for females 1 to 34 years old, and a major source of preventable morbidity and mortality in middle-aged and elderly women. In the United States, 43,000 women die from injuries and approximately 1 million women are hospitalized for injuries annually. The leading causes of injury death in women are motor vehicle-related injuries (34%), suicide (14%), falls (14%), and homicide (12%). Injuries of particular concern include fatal and nonfatal falls in elderly women, homicides among young black women, suicides among young white women, work-related homicides among female convenience store workers, and fatal and nonfatal injuries in pregnant and nonpregnant women associated with domestic violence. Strategies to prevent most types of injuries are either known or being investigated. Increased efforts to develop, implement, and evaluate such interventions would help to reduce the toll of injuries on women's health.