Epidemiology of childhood injuries in Saudi Arabia: a scoping review

Abstract Background Injury is the leading cause of death among Saudi children. Despite that, much remains unknown on the epidemiology and the extent of burden. This scoping review aims to describe previous literature on injury burden, including types, causes, and outcomes. Methods We conducted a sco...

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Main Authors: Hadeel Albedewi, Nouf Al-Saud, Abdulhameed Kashkary, Ada Al-Qunaibet, Salem M. AlBalawi, Suliman Alghnam
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2021-09-01
Series:BMC Pediatrics
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12887-021-02886-8
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author Hadeel Albedewi
Nouf Al-Saud
Abdulhameed Kashkary
Ada Al-Qunaibet
Salem M. AlBalawi
Suliman Alghnam
author_facet Hadeel Albedewi
Nouf Al-Saud
Abdulhameed Kashkary
Ada Al-Qunaibet
Salem M. AlBalawi
Suliman Alghnam
author_sort Hadeel Albedewi
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Background Injury is the leading cause of death among Saudi children. Despite that, much remains unknown on the epidemiology and the extent of burden. This scoping review aims to describe previous literature on injury burden, including types, causes, and outcomes. Methods We conducted a scoping literature search of English published articles on injuries among Saudi children between 0 to 18 years old using Scopus, MEDLINE, and Web of Science between January 2000 and December 2020. The primary outcome was the type and the cause of childhood injuries. Data extraction was based on specified data elements that included study characteristics and epidemiological parameters. The STROBE checklist was used to assess the quality of publications. Results The initial review identified 3,384 studies. Of which, 36 studies met the inclusion criteria. A total of 20,136 children were included; of them, 69% were males. Among studies that examined overall injuries, falls represented 31.9%, while 25.1% were due to Motor Vehicle Collision (MVC). The leading cause of fractures was falls (37.9%), followed by MVC (21.5%). The leading cause was flames (52.1%) followed by scald (36.4%) for burns. While for poisoning, medications were the leading cause of (39.9%), followed by toxic household products (25.7%). Weighted mortality rates were 5.2% for overall injuries, 8.3% for fractures of the skull and spine, and 17.4% for burns. Conclusions MVC and falls are associated with the highest share of injuries in the kingdom. These findings can guide prevention efforts to reduce injury burden and improve population health. Further population-based research is warranted to explore the determinants of childhood injuries across all regions of Saudi Arabia.
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spelling doaj.art-f84231f016ea4ca9aa3d748714aeccef2022-12-21T22:53:34ZengBMCBMC Pediatrics1471-24312021-09-0121111410.1186/s12887-021-02886-8Epidemiology of childhood injuries in Saudi Arabia: a scoping reviewHadeel Albedewi0Nouf Al-Saud1Abdulhameed Kashkary2Ada Al-Qunaibet3Salem M. AlBalawi4Suliman Alghnam5Department of Community Health Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud UniversityBiostatistics, Epidemiology and Scientific Computing Department, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research CenterSaudi Public Health AuthoritySaudi Public Health AuthoritySaudi Public Health AuthorityPopulation Health Section-King Abdullah International Medical Research Center, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health SciencesAbstract Background Injury is the leading cause of death among Saudi children. Despite that, much remains unknown on the epidemiology and the extent of burden. This scoping review aims to describe previous literature on injury burden, including types, causes, and outcomes. Methods We conducted a scoping literature search of English published articles on injuries among Saudi children between 0 to 18 years old using Scopus, MEDLINE, and Web of Science between January 2000 and December 2020. The primary outcome was the type and the cause of childhood injuries. Data extraction was based on specified data elements that included study characteristics and epidemiological parameters. The STROBE checklist was used to assess the quality of publications. Results The initial review identified 3,384 studies. Of which, 36 studies met the inclusion criteria. A total of 20,136 children were included; of them, 69% were males. Among studies that examined overall injuries, falls represented 31.9%, while 25.1% were due to Motor Vehicle Collision (MVC). The leading cause of fractures was falls (37.9%), followed by MVC (21.5%). The leading cause was flames (52.1%) followed by scald (36.4%) for burns. While for poisoning, medications were the leading cause of (39.9%), followed by toxic household products (25.7%). Weighted mortality rates were 5.2% for overall injuries, 8.3% for fractures of the skull and spine, and 17.4% for burns. Conclusions MVC and falls are associated with the highest share of injuries in the kingdom. These findings can guide prevention efforts to reduce injury burden and improve population health. Further population-based research is warranted to explore the determinants of childhood injuries across all regions of Saudi Arabia.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12887-021-02886-8Unintentional injuriesFracturesBurnsRoad trafficPoisoningOral injuries
spellingShingle Hadeel Albedewi
Nouf Al-Saud
Abdulhameed Kashkary
Ada Al-Qunaibet
Salem M. AlBalawi
Suliman Alghnam
Epidemiology of childhood injuries in Saudi Arabia: a scoping review
BMC Pediatrics
Unintentional injuries
Fractures
Burns
Road traffic
Poisoning
Oral injuries
title Epidemiology of childhood injuries in Saudi Arabia: a scoping review
title_full Epidemiology of childhood injuries in Saudi Arabia: a scoping review
title_fullStr Epidemiology of childhood injuries in Saudi Arabia: a scoping review
title_full_unstemmed Epidemiology of childhood injuries in Saudi Arabia: a scoping review
title_short Epidemiology of childhood injuries in Saudi Arabia: a scoping review
title_sort epidemiology of childhood injuries in saudi arabia a scoping review
topic Unintentional injuries
Fractures
Burns
Road traffic
Poisoning
Oral injuries
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s12887-021-02886-8
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AT abdulhameedkashkary epidemiologyofchildhoodinjuriesinsaudiarabiaascopingreview
AT adaalqunaibet epidemiologyofchildhoodinjuriesinsaudiarabiaascopingreview
AT salemmalbalawi epidemiologyofchildhoodinjuriesinsaudiarabiaascopingreview
AT sulimanalghnam epidemiologyofchildhoodinjuriesinsaudiarabiaascopingreview