Ohio Injuries: Young Adults Ages 15-24 Years

Injuries are a leading cause of death and disability among young adults 15-24 years of age in Ohio. Not only are injuries the leading cause of death for this age group, but non-fatal injuries have considerable long-term medical and economic consequences. Increased efforts to prevent injuries to young adults are necessary. The following data come from the Injury in Ohio report.*

Health Care Resource Utilization

• From 2005 through 2007, injuries to young adults ages 15-24 years resulted in an annual average of:
• 318,550 Emergency Department Visits
• 45,781 EMS Runs
• 11,074 Inpatient Hospitalizations
• 761 Fatalities

• Males sustained a majority (57.3%) of the injuries requiring treatment in the emergency department

Injury-Related Hospitalizations

• Injury-related hospitalizations in 2005-2007 resulted in an annual average of:
  • $286 million in hospital charges
  • 47,981 days of hospitalization
• Mean length of stay was 3.3 days

• Mean hospital charges per patient was $29,348 for males and $20,289 for females

Location at Time of Injury

• Among young adults 15-24 years of age, injuries requiring severe trauma admission to the hospital were most likely to occur on the street

Fatalities

• Males accounted for 78.8% of fatal injuries
• 59.0% of fatal injuries were unintentional, while 19.8% were suicide and 19.6% were homicide
• The leading causes of death due to injury for young adults 15-24 years old in Ohio were:

Mechanisms of Injury

• 56.1% of injuries requiring inpatient hospitalization were unintentional, while 28.8% were self-inflicted and 11.5% were due to assault
• 42.5% of EMS runs were due to injuries sustained in motor vehicle crashes
• Males were more likely than females to sustain injuries due to being struck by/against, while females were more likely than males to sustain injuries due to motor vehicle crashes
• The following represents the leading causes of injury for each level of care:

*Data for this report were obtained from the Ohio Department of Public Safety, the Ohio Hospital Association and the Ohio Department of Health. This research brief is part of a series reporting on leading causes of injury among selected age groups in Ohio.