scholarly journals Natural hazard fatalities in Switzerland from 1946 to 2015

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandre Badoux ◽  
Norina Andres ◽  
Frank Techel ◽  
Christoph Hegg
Keyword(s):  
Natural Hazards ◽  
Causes Of Death ◽  
Natural Hazard ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Fatal Accidents ◽  
Female Victims ◽  
The Past ◽  
Common Causes ◽  
Male To Female

Abstract. A database of fatalities caused by natural hazard processes in Switzerland was compiled for the period between 1946 and 2015. Using information from the Swiss flood and landslide database and the Swiss destructive avalanche database, the data set was extended back in time and more hazard processes were added by conducting an in-depth search of newspaper reports. The new database now covers all natural hazards common in Switzerland categorized into seven process types: flood, landslide, rockfall, lightning, windstorm, avalanche, and other processes (e.g. ice avalanches, earthquakes). Included were all fatal accidents associated with natural hazard processes where victims did not expose themselves to an important danger on purpose or wilfully. The database contains information on 635 natural hazard events causing 1023 fatalities, which corresponds to a mean of 14.6 victims per year. The most common causes of death were snow avalanche (37 %), followed by lightning (16 %), flood (12 %), windstorm (10 %), rockfall (8 %), landslide (7 %) and other processes (9 %). About 50 % of all victims died in one of the 507 single-fatality events; the other half of victims were killed in the 128 multi-fatality events. The number of natural hazard fatalities that occurred annually during our 70-year study period ranged from two to 112 and exhibited a distinct decrease over time. While the number of victims during the first three decades (until 1975) ranged from 191 to 269 per decade, it ranged from 47 to 109 in the four following decades. This overall decrease was mainly driven by a considerable decline in the number of avalanche and lightning fatalities. About 75 % of victims were males in all natural hazard events considered together, and this ratio was roughly maintained in all individual process categories except landslides (lower) and other processes (higher). The ratio of male to female victims was most likely to be balanced when deaths occurred at home (in or near a building), a situation that mainly occurred in association with landslides and avalanches. The average age of victims of natural hazards was 35.9 years, and accordingly, the age groups with the largest number of victims were the 20–29 and 30–39 year-old groups, which in combination represented 34% of all fatalities. It appears that the natural hazard fatality rate in Switzerland during the past 70 years has been relatively low in comparison to rates in other countries or rates of other types of fatal accidents in Switzerland.

scholarly journals Natural hazard fatalities in Switzerland from 1946 to 2015

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (12) ◽  
pp. 2747-2768 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandre Badoux ◽  
Norina Andres ◽  
Frank Techel ◽  
Christoph Hegg
Keyword(s):  
Natural Hazards ◽  
Natural Hazard ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Fatal Accidents ◽  
Large Variability ◽  
Female Victims ◽  
Common Causes ◽  
Hazard Mortality ◽  
Male To Female

Abstract. A database of fatalities caused by natural hazard processes in Switzerland was compiled for the period between 1946 and 2015. Using information from the Swiss flood and landslide damage database and the Swiss destructive avalanche database, the data set was extended back in time and more hazard processes were added by conducting an in-depth search of newspaper reports. The new database now covers all natural hazards common in Switzerland, categorised into seven process types: flood, landslide, rockfall, lightning, windstorm, avalanche and other processes (e.g. ice avalanches, earthquakes). Included were all fatal accidents associated with natural hazard processes in which victims did not expose themselves to an important danger on purpose. The database contains information on 635 natural hazard events causing 1023 fatalities, which corresponds to a mean of 14.6 victims per year. The most common causes of death were snow avalanches (37 %), followed by lightning (16 %), floods (12 %), windstorms (10 %), rockfall (8 %), landslides (7 %) and other processes (9 %). About 50 % of all victims died in one of the 507 single-fatality events; the other half were killed in the 128 multi-fatality events. The number of natural hazard fatalities that occurred annually during our 70-year study period ranged from 2 to 112 and exhibited a distinct decrease over time. While the number of victims in the first three decades (until 1975) ranged from 191 to 269 per decade, it ranged from 47 to 109 in the four following decades. This overall decrease was mainly driven by a considerable decline in the number of avalanche and lightning fatalities. About 75 % of victims were males in all natural hazard events considered together, and this ratio was roughly maintained in all individual process categories except landslides (lower) and other processes (higher). The ratio of male to female victims was most likely to be balanced when deaths occurred at home (in or near a building), a situation that mainly occurred in association with landslides and avalanches. The average age of victims of natural hazards was 35.9 years and, accordingly, the age groups with the largest number of victims were the 20–29 and 30–39 year-old groups, which in combination represented 34 % of all fatalities. It appears that the overall natural hazard mortality rate in Switzerland over the past 70 years has been relatively low in comparison to rates in other countries or rates of other types of fatal accidents in Switzerland. However, a large variability in mortality rates was observed within the country with considerably higher rates in Alpine environments.

scholarly journals Time trends in hospital discharges in patients aged 85 years and older in Spain: data from the Spanish National Discharge Database (2000–2015)

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sergio Palacios-Fernandez ◽  
Mario Salcedo ◽  
Gregorio Gonzalez-Alcaide ◽  
Jose-Manuel Ramos-Rincon
Keyword(s):  
Length Of Stay ◽  
Hospital Admission ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Percentage Increase ◽  
Very Elderly ◽  
Hospital Discharges ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Common Causes ◽  
Discharged Patients ◽  
Hospital Systems

Abstract Background The aging population is an increasing concern in Western hospital systems. The aim of this study was to describe the main characteristics and hospitalization patterns in inpatients aged 85 years or more in Spain from 2000 to 2015. Methods Retrospective observational study analyzing data from the minimum basic data set, an administrative registry recording each hospital discharge in Spain since 1997. We collected administrative, economic and clinical data for all discharges between 2000 and 2015 in patients aged 85 years and older, reporting results in three age groups and four time periods to assess differences and compare trends. Results There were 4,387,326 discharges in very elderly patients in Spain from 2000 to 2015, representing 5.32% of total discharges in 2000–2003 and 10.42% in 2012–2015. The pace of growth was faster in older age groups, with an annual percentage increase of 6% in patients aged 85–89 years, 7.79% in those aged 90–94 years, and 8.06% in those aged 95 and older. The proportion of men also rose (37.30 to 39.70%, p < 0.001). The proportion of patients that died during hospital admission decreased from 14.64% in 2000–2003 to 13.83% in 2012–2015 (p < 0.001), and mean length of stay from 9.98 days in 2000–2003 to 8.34 days in 2012–2015. Some of the most frequent primary diagnoses became even more frequent relative to the total number of primary diagnoses, such as heart failure (7.84 to 10.62%), pneumonia (6.36 to 7.36%), other respiratory diseases (3.87 to 8.49%) or other alterations of urinary tract (3.08 to 5.20%). However, there was a relative decrease in the proportion of femoral neck fractures (8.07 to 6.77%), neoplasms (7.65 to 7.34%), ischemic encephalopathy (6.97 to 5.85%), COPD (4.23 to 3.15%), ischemic cardiomyopathy (4.20 to 8.49%) and cholelithiasis (3.07 to 3.28%). Conclusions Discharges in the very elderly population are increasing in both relative and absolute terms in Spanish hospitals. Within this group, discharged patients are getting older and more frequently male. The mean length of stay and the proportion of patients that died during hospital admission are decreasing. Acute-on-chronic organ diseases, neoplasms, acute cardiovascular diseases, and infections are the most common causes of discharge.

scholarly journals Mortality in 787,666 school pupils with and without autism: A cohort study

Autism ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 136236132094403
Author(s):  
Gillian S Smith ◽  
Michael Fleming ◽  
Deborah Kinnear ◽  
Angela Henderson ◽  
Jill P Pell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Causes Of Death ◽  
Quality Care ◽  
Current Generation ◽  
Children And Young People ◽  
The Past ◽  
Crude Mortality Rate ◽  
Crude Mortality ◽  
Common Causes ◽  
External Causes

Studies on children and adults combined suggest higher mortality rates for autistic than other people, but few report mortality rates for autistic children. In addition, past studies may not be representative of the current generation of children diagnosed with autism. We examined mortality in children using data from Scotland’s annual pupil census, linked to National Records of Scotland deaths register, between 2008 and 2015. In total, 9754 (1.2%) of 787,666 pupils had autism. They were more likely to live in neighbourhoods of greater deprivation and receive free school meals. Six autistic pupils died; crude mortality rate 15.8/100,000 person-years (95% CI = 7.1–35.1), compared with 458 other pupils; crude mortality rate 12.5/100,000 person-years (95% CI = 11.4–13.7). The indirectly standardised mortality ratio was 1.1 (95% CI = 0.5–2.5). In the autistic pupils, the most common causes of death were nervous system diseases, for example, epilepsy. Avoidable causes were common. In the comparison group, external causes and cancers were the most common causes of death. We cautiously conclude that mortality in the current generation of autistic children is no higher than for other children, perhaps due to recent widening of criteria for autism spectrum diagnosis, but some deaths could have been avoided by better care. Lay abstract There are few studies on the deaths of children and young people with autism; some studies on children and adults combined suggest that those with autism may have higher death rates than other people. More children are diagnosed with autism than in the past, suggesting that there are now more children with milder autism who have the diagnosis than in the past, so studies in the past might not apply to the current generation of children and young people diagnosed with autism. We examined the rates of death in children and young people in Scotland using recorded information in Scotland’s annual pupil census, linked to the National Records of Scotland deaths register, between 2008 and 2015. In total, 9754 (1.2%) out of 787,666 pupils had autism. Six pupils with autism died in the study period, compared with 458 other pupils. This was equivalent to 16 per 100,000 for pupils with autism and 13 per 100,000 pupils without autism; hence, the rate of death was very similar. In the pupils with autism, the most common causes of death were diseases of the nervous system, whereas they were from external causes in the comparison pupils. The autism group had some deaths due to epilepsy which might have been prevented by good quality care. We cautiously conclude that the death rate in the current generation of children and young adults with autism is no higher than for other children, but that even in this high-income country, some deaths could be prevented by high quality care.

scholarly journals Medical mortality in an emergency department in Nigeria: the transition is obvious!

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 172-9
Author(s):  
AD Olusegun-Joseph ◽  
O Akande ◽  
E Otrofanowei ◽  
EO Nwoye ◽  
OB Olopade ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Department ◽  
Medical Records ◽  
Causes Of Death ◽  
Female Ratio ◽  
Younger Age ◽  
Common Causes ◽  
Causes Of Mortality ◽  
Age Range ◽  
Male To Female

Introduction: The emergency department (ED), a major entry point into the hospital, provides an insight to the type of cases seen, the quality of care and mortality spectrum in a health institution. We aim to identify the spectrum of medical causes of mortality in our ED, the demographic pattern and duration of stay before death. Method: This is a retrospective study that looked at medical mortality in the ED from January 2004 to December 2009. We obtained data on the demographics and causes of death from the medical records and case notes of the deceased. Results: A total of 16587 patients were admitted during the period under review, of these 1262 (7.61%) died in the ED. The male to female ratio was 1.58:1.0 [772 males (61.2%), and 489 females (38.8%)]. Mortality was highest among the 20-45years age range, followed by 46-65 years, >65years and < 20 years in decreasing frequency [589(46.7%), 421(33.4%), 186 (14.8%) and 66(5.2%) respectively]. The three most common causes of death were stroke 315(25%), HIV related illness- es 126(10.0%), and heart failure 123(9.7%). Most deaths occurred less than 24hours of admission, 550(43.6%), followed by one day (36.0%) and two days (10.8%) post admissions respectively. Conclusion: The commonest cause of death in the ED was stroke. The burden of death was highest in the younger age group, with most occurring less than 24 hours of admission. Keywords: Emergency department; duration; mortality.

Swing Low, Sweet Chariot: Abandoning the Disinterested Witness Requirement for Advance Directives

2006 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 93-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ben Kusmin
Keyword(s):  
Advance Directives ◽  
Medical Technology ◽  
Causes Of Death ◽  
Life Support ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Treatment Decisions ◽  
Living Will ◽  
Power Of Attorney ◽  
The Past ◽  
Common Causes

Advances in medical technology over the past several decades have made it possible to increase life long past the point where many patients would otherwise suffer a natural death. In the past, the most common causes of death were abrupt killers such as tuberculosis, pneumonia, and injuries. Now the average American can expect to spend the final two years of life too disabled to perform even the routine activities of life unassisted. Thousands of people also languish in irreversible comas or persistent vegetative states due to illness or injury. Meanwhile, the ranks of the elderly can be expected to burgeon as Baby Boomers approach retirement age and the number of people treated with life support technology (alternatively described as “life-preserving” and “death-prolonging”) will rise accordingly. The conventional wisdom is that most people would like to avoid such treatment, preferring to die with dignity. Advance directives ostensibly enable people to avoid this fate, by expressing their treatment decisions in advance (a “living will”), or by designating someone they trust to make treatment decisions for them (a “durable power of attorney for health care”).

scholarly journals Sex differences in the mortality rate for coronavirus disease 2019 compared to other causes of death

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pascal Geldsetzer ◽  
Trasias Mukama ◽  
Nadine K Jawad ◽  
Tim Riffe ◽  
Angela Rogers ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Mortality Rate ◽  
Causes Of Death ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Causal Pathways ◽  
Common Causes ◽  
All Cause Mortality

Men are more likely than women to die due to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). This paper sets out to examine whether the magnitude of the sex differences in the COVID-19 mortality rate are unusual when compared to other common causes of death. In doing so, we aim to provide evidence as to whether the causal pathways for the sex differences in the mortality rate of COVID-19 likely differ from those for other causes of death. We found that sex differences in the age-standardized COVID-19 mortality rate were substantially larger than for the age-standardized all-cause mortality rate and most other common causes of death. These differences were especially large in the oldest age groups.

Homicide Patterns in the Toyama Prefecture, Japan

1997 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 316-320 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoshihiko Kominato ◽  
Ichiro Shimada ◽  
Nobuhide Hata ◽  
Hisao Takizawa ◽  
Takashi Fujikura
Keyword(s):  
Drug Abuse ◽  
Death Rate ◽  
Family Relationship ◽  
Social Conditions ◽  
Female Victims ◽  
The Past ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Male To Female ◽  
Close Family

Homicides occurring in the Toyama prefecture, Japan, during the past 10 years were reviewed. Between 1985 and 1994, 56 offenders committed 63 homicides. The mean death rate for homicide was 0.55 per 100,000. The ratio of male to female victims was 1:1, while 82% of the assailants were male and 18% were female. The victim and the assailant had a close family relationship in 58.7% of the cases. Dyadic death (homicide followed by suicide) accounted for 27% of all victims. Twenty-nine per cent of the victims were murdered by mentally unstable offenders, and in almost half (44%) of the cases the offender was convicted. Homicides during robbery were rare (only two cases), and there was only one homicide during sexual assault. Death was caused by blunt instrument injury in 38.1% of cases, asphyxia in 31.7%, stabbing in 17.5%, burns in 9.5% and shooting in 3.2% (only two cases). The majority (80%) of homicides occurred at the residence of the victim(s). None of the victims had a history of drug abuse. Social conditions in Toyama prefecture, and their possible relevance to local homicide patterns, are discussed briefly.

The Coroner's System and Under-Reporting of Suicide

1995 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 319-326 ◽  
Author(s):  
P N Cooper ◽  
C M Milroy
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Monoxide ◽  
Causes Of Death ◽  
Carbon Monoxide Poisoning ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Young Females ◽  
Common Causes ◽  
Self Immolation

This study investigates the under-reporting of suicide with particular reference to differences between sex and age groups and the various modes of suicide. The study was performed retrospectively using the files of H M Coroner for South Yorkshire (West) over the years 1985 to 1991. There were 536 deaths judged on the balance of probability to be suicidal in nature. Only 60 per cent of these deaths received a suicide verdict and would therefore register in official suicide statistics. A significantly smaller proportion of females (51.7 per cent) received a suicide verdict than males (64.5 per cent). Of the young females (<45) 61.7 per cent were given a suicide verdict compared to 46.6 per cent of older females (45+). These differences are explained by different preferences for mode of suicide, in particular for poisoning using solids or liquids. Only 40 per cent of cases within this category received a suicide verdict. Drowning showed an even smaller percentage (24 per cent). Self-immolation (42 per cent) and jumping from a height (51 per cent) were also under-represented. Of these, self-poisoning, drowning and jumping from a height were relatively popular among females. In contrast, common causes of death favoured predominantly by males — hanging and carbon monoxide poisoning — received a high percentage of suicide verdicts (81 per cent and 90 per cent). Thus official suicide statistics produce a distorted view of the suicide population with relative underreporting of females, particularly older females, and marked under-reporting of some causes of death, notably poisoning using solids or liquids, drowning, self-immolation and jumping from a height.

Natural Hazards Governance in India

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anshu Sharma ◽  
Sunny Kumar
Keyword(s):  
Natural Hazards ◽  
Natural Hazard ◽  
Social Economic ◽  
Institution Building ◽  
Storm Events ◽  
The Past ◽  
Governance Systems ◽  
Response Systems ◽  
New Challenges ◽  
The Times

India faces a very broad range of hazards due to its wide geoclimatic spread. This, combined with deep-rooted social, economic, physical, and institutional vulnerabilities, makes India one of the highest disaster-affected countries in the world. Natural hazards have gained higher visibility due to an increasing frequency and magnitude of their impact in recent decades, and efforts to manage disasters have been largely unable to keep pace with the growing incidences, scale, and complexities of disaster events. A number of mega events between 1990 and 2005, including earthquakes, cyclones, floods, and a tsunami, created momentum in decision making to look at disasters critically and to push for a shift from response to mitigation and preparedness. While efforts were put in place for appropriate legislation, institution building, and planning, these processes were long drawn out and time and resource intensive. It has taken years for the governance systems to begin showing results on the ground. While these efforts were being formulated, the changing face of disasters began to present new challenges. Between 2005 and 2015, a number of unprecedented events shook the system, underscoring the increasing variability and thus unpredictability of natural hazards as a new normal. Events in this period included cloudbursts and flash floods in the deserts, droughts in areas that are normally flood prone, abnormal hail and storm events, and floods of rare fury. To augment the shifting natural hazard landscape, urbanization and changing lifestyles have made facing disasters more challenging. For example, having entire cities run out of water is a situation that response systems are not geared to address. The future will be nothing like the past, with climate change adding to natural hazard complexities. Yet, the tools to manage hazards and reduce vulnerabilities are also evolving to unprecedented levels of sophistication. Science, people, and innovations will be valuable instruments for addressing the challenges of natural hazards in the times ahead.

scholarly journals Risk factors for the ill-defined causes of death in the Brazilian states: a multilevel analysis

2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (11) ◽  
pp. 3979-3988 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nádia Cristina Pinheiro Rodrigues ◽  
Regina Paiva Daumas ◽  
Andréa Sobral de Almeida ◽  
Gisele O’Dwyer ◽  
Mônica Kramer de Noronha Andrade ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Causes Of Death ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Poisson Model ◽  
Mortality Data ◽  
Age Group ◽  
Socioeconomic Conditions ◽  
The Past ◽  
The North ◽  
Socioeconomic Data

Abstract This study describes the spatial-temporal changes of the proportion of ill-defined causes of death in Brazil (1998-2012) and investigates which demographic and socioeconomic factors affect this proportion. We collected information of the proportion of ill-defined causes of death by age (15-59 years), sex, period, locality, and socioeconomic data. We used a multilevel Poisson model to investigate which factors affect the risk of ill-defined causes of death. Unlike states located in the South and Midwest, we detected clusters with high proportional levels of these deaths in states in the North and Northeast regions. A greater proportion occurred in 1998-2002 (0.09), in the North and Northeast (0.14 and 0.12, respectively), in older age groups (0.09), and in places with poor socioeconomic conditions. The adjusted analysis showed differences in proportion according to the region, age, period, schooling, social inequality, and income. The results indicate that the lower the age group and the better the socioeconomic situation, the lower the risk to register the cause of death as ill-defined. Although over the past years, the quality of Brazil’s mortality data has gradually increased, investments towards improving mortality registries cannot be discontinued.

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