Question of the Week
December 1, 2015
What is the leading cause of injury death in Tennessee?
It’s hard to believe that poisoning is the #1 cause of injury death– above motor vehicle crashes, gunshot wounds and drowning.
Drugs—both pharmaceutical and illicit—cause the vast majority of poisoning deaths.
The CDC uses the National Vital Statistics System (NVSS) to monitor deaths due to drug poisoning. NVSS collects and compiles mortality information from death certificates in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. NCHS identifies the number of drug poisoning deaths from the underlying cause of death on death certificates. Multiple causes of death are used to identify the drugs involved. Approximately 23% of drug poisoning deaths lack information on the specific drugs involved.
Opioid analgesic pain relievers are involved in a substantial proportion of drug poisoning deaths. Opioid analgesics include natural and semisynthetic opioid analgesics such as hydrocodone, morphine, and oxycodone; other synthetic opioid analgesics such as fentanyl; and methadone.
Recent findings (including all 50 states):
Tennessee Poison Center is a member of the DOH Commissioner’s Council on Injury Prevention, a group of organizations throughout the state who collaborate to reduce injury deaths in Tennessee.
This question prepared by: Josephine Darwin, Director of Community Outreach