ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate the risk factors for unintentional injury among children in the rural areas of Liling, Hunan Province, China, as a basis for developing prevention and intervention measures for unintentional injury in rural children.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A total of 3 257 students, aged between 5 and 16 years from 4 middle schools and 2 primary schools in eastern and western rural areas of Liling were recruited in October 2013 by stratified sampling and cluster sampling. The general personal information and data on family backgrounds, living environment, and incidence of unintentional injury were collected from all subjects through a self-designed questionnaire. The risk factors for childhood unintentional injury were assessed by an unconditional multiple logistic regression analysis.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Out of the 3 257 subjects, 356 (10.93%) were injured during the 12-month period prior to the study. The univariate analysis showed that unintentional injury in these subjects was related to sex, left-behind status, times of internet surfing in internet bars per week, parent companion or not, age of guardian, degree of harmony of parents' marital relationship, employment status of one or both parents as a migrant worker, storage of fireworks and firecrackers at home or not, violence in residential areas, and participation or not in violence in residential areas. The unconditional multiple logistic regression analysis showed that the major risk factors for unintentional injury in these subjects were male gender (OR=0.751, P=0.013), left-behind status (OR=1.779, P<0.001), storage of fireworks and firecrackers at home (OR=1.337, P=0.028) and violence around residential areas (OR=1.517, P<0.001).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Risk for unintentional injury is multifactorial among children in the rural areas of Liling, Hunan. To reduce the incidence of unintentional injury in children in Liling, particular attention should be paid to boys, left-behind children, children who have home storage of fireworks and firecrackers and children who are living in areas with frequent violence.</p>
Subject(s)
Adolescent , Child , Child, Preschool , Female , Humans , Male , Logistic Models , Risk Factors , Rural Population , Wounds and InjuriesABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate blood lead levels (BLLs) and influencing factors of BLLs among preschool children living in towns of Hunan Province.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A total of 2 044 preschool children (1,108 boys and 936 girls) from towns of 12 regions in Hunan Province were enrolled by a cluster sampling between September 2008 and June 2009. The average age of the children was 4.4 ± 1.1 years (range 2 to 6 years). BLLs were determined using the atomic absorption spectrographic method. The influencing factors of BLLs were investigated using a standard questionnaire and logistic regression analysis.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The mean BLLs of the children were 81.9 ± 34.5 μg/L. BLLs more than 100 μg/ L were noted in 482 children (23.58%). Of the 482 children, 472 (23.09%) showed BLLs of 100-199 μg/L and 10 (0.49%) showed BLLs ≥ 200 μg/L. There were significant differences in the prevalence of elevated BLLs (≥ 100 μg/L) among different age groups (P < 0.01). The prevalence of elevated BLLs in boys (28.99%) was significantly higher than that in girls (21.98%) (P < 0.01). There were significant differences in the prevalence of elevated BLLs in children from different regions (P < 0.01). The logistic regression analysis showed that the male (OR = 1.449, P < 0.01), father's occupational lead exposure (OR = 1.314, P < 0.01)and maternal frequent use of hair dyes (OR = 1.678, P < 0.05) were risk factor for elevated BLLs.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The prevalence of elevated BLLs is higher in preschool children living in towns of Hunan Province and is associated with a child's region and age. The male, father's occupational lead exposure and maternal frequent use of hair dyes are risk factor for elevated BLLs.</p>