307 Fatal injuries among adolescents in Bangladesh: findings from a nationally conducted survey

Background Adolescents are vulnerable to injury due to their high risk-taking nature. Objective In this study, the Bangladesh Health and Injury Survey (BHIS) 2016 data were analyzed to describe the epidemiology of fatal injuries among adolescents in Bangladesh. Methodology BHIS was conducted nationally among 299,216 rural and urban residences. The sample was chosen through the use of a multi-stage cluster sampling technique. Results 'Suicide, Road Traffic Injury, Electrocution, Homicide, Drowning, Fall, and Burn' was found to be frequent causes of death among adolescents. The fatality rate of injury was 62.2 (95% CI 44.65–84.49) in 100,000 adolescents. The rate among males was 52.6 (95% CI 31.1–83.6), and among females was 71.8 (95% CI 46.1–106.8) per 100,000 adolescents. Adolescents living in the rural areas were 2.3 times higher at risk (RR=2.3; 95% CI 1.01–5.2) than those living in the urban areas. Suicide was the leading cause of death, with a rate of 34.4 per 100,000 adolescents (95% CI 21.9–51.6). Road Traffic Injury was found to be the second leading cause of death, with a rate of 9.8 (95% CI 4.0–20.4) per 100,000 adolescents per year. Fatality rates for Electrocution, Homicide, Drowning, Fall, and burn are 6.5 (95% CI 2.0–15.8), 3.3 (95% CI 0.5–10.8), 3.3 (95% CI 0.5–10.8), 3.3 (95% CI 0.5–10.8) 1.64 (95% CI 0.08–8.1) per 100,000 adolescents per year respectively. Conclusion Fatality due to injury was very high among adolescents in Bangladesh. Policymakers can use these findings to Strengthen strategies for the care of adolescents further to ensure healthy, productive future generations.