Epidemiology of trauma in the subarctic regions of the Nordic countries.

• Published in: BMC Emergency Medicine
• Main Authors: Steinvik, Tine, Raatiniemi, Lasse, Mogensen, Brynjólfur, Steingrímsdóttir, Guðrún B, Beer, Torfinn, Eriksson, Anders, Dehli, Trond, Wisborg, Torben, Bakke, Håkon Kvåle
• Other Authors: 1Anaesthesia and Critical Care Research Group, University of Tromsø, The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway. [e-mail]. 2Centre for prehospital emergency medicine, Oulu university hospital, Oulu, Finland. 3Department of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, Hammerfest Hospital, Finnmark Health Trust, Hammerfest, Norway. 4University Hospital of Iceland Hringbraut 101, 101, Reykjavík, Iceland. 5University of Iceland, Sæmundargata 4, 102, Reykjavík, Iceland. 6Department of Emergency Medicine, Landspítali University Hospital, Fossvogur, 108, Reykjavík, Iceland. 7Unit of Forensic Medicine, Department of Community Medicine and Rehabilitation, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden. 8The National Board of Forensic Medicine, Stockholm, Sweden. 9Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, University Hospital of North Norway, Tromsø, Norway. 10Anaesthesia and Critical Care Research Group, University of Tromsø, The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway. 11Norwegian National Advisory Unit on Trauma, Division of Emergencies and Critical Care, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway. 12Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, University Hospital of North Norway, Tromsø, Norway. 13Trauma section, Department of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery, University Hospital of North Norway, Tromsø, Norway. 14Department of Health and Care Sciences, Faculty of Health Science, University of Tromsø, The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: BioMed Central 2022
• Subjects: Epidemiology; Injury; Rural; Trauma; Wounds and Injuries; Arctic; Norway; Tromso; Iceland; Northern Finland; Northern Norway; Northern Sweden; Subarctic; University of Tromso
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2336/622110; https://doi.org/10.1186/s12873-021-00559-4

To access publisher's full text version of this article, please click on the hyperlink in Additional Links field or click on the hyperlink at the top of the page marked Download Background: The northern regions of the Nordic countries have common challenges of sparsely populated areas, long distances, and an arctic climate. The aim of this study was to compare the cause and rate of fatal injuries in the northernmost area of the Nordic countries over a 5-year period. Methods: In this retrospective cohort, we used the Cause of Death Registries to collate all deaths from 2007 to 2011 due to an external cause of death. The study area was the three northernmost counties in Norway, the four northernmost counties in Finland and Sweden, and the whole of Iceland. Results: A total of 4308 deaths were included in the analysis. Low energy trauma comprised 24% of deaths and high energy trauma 76% of deaths. Northern Finland had the highest incidence of both high and low energy trauma deaths. Iceland had the lowest incidence of high and low energy trauma deaths. Iceland had the lowest prehospital share of deaths (74%) and the lowest incidence of injuries leading to death in a rural location. The incidence rates for high energy trauma death were 36.1/100000/year in Northern Finland, 15.6/100000/year in Iceland, 27.0/100000/year in Northern Norway, and 23.0/100000/year in Northern Sweden. Conclusion: We found unexpected differences in the epidemiology of trauma death between the countries. The differences suggest that a comparison of the trauma care systems and preventive strategies in the four countries is required. Keywords: Epidemiology; Injury; Rural; Trauma. Finnmarkssykehuset Health Trust University of Tromso Northern Norway Regional Health Authority