Unnatural deaths in South African platinum miners, 1992-2008.

<h4>Background</h4>The mortality rate from unnatural deaths for South Africa is nearly double the world average. Reliable data are limited by inaccurate and incomplete ascertainment of specific causes of unnatural death. This study describes trends in causes of unnatural death between 19...

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Autores principales:	Megan S C Lim, Jill Murray, Robert J Dowdeswell, Judith R Glynn, Pam Sonnenberg
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2011
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/d574924bee504400a92230d96c3fbe5f
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:d574924bee504400a92230d96c3fbe5f2021-11-04T06:08:47ZUnnatural deaths in South African platinum miners, 1992-2008.1932-620310.1371/journal.pone.0022807https://doaj.org/article/d574924bee504400a92230d96c3fbe5f2011-01-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/21931592/pdf/?tool=EBIhttps://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203<h4>Background</h4>The mortality rate from unnatural deaths for South Africa is nearly double the world average. Reliable data are limited by inaccurate and incomplete ascertainment of specific causes of unnatural death. This study describes trends in causes of unnatural death between 1992 and 2008 in a cohort of South African miners.<h4>Methodology/principal findings</h4>The study used routinely-collected retrospective data with cause of death determined from multiple sources including the mine's human resources database, medical records, death registration, and autopsy. Cause-specific mortality rates and Poisson regression coefficients were calculated by calendar year and age group. The cohort included 40,043 men. One quarter of all 2937 deaths were from unnatural causes (n = 805). Causes of unnatural deaths were road traffic accidents 38% (109/100,000 py), homicides 30% (88/100,000 py), occupational injuries 17% (50/100,000 py), suicides 8% (24/100,000 py), and other accidents 6% (19/100,000 py). Rates of unnatural deaths declined by 2% (95%CI -4%,-1%) per year over the study period, driven by declining rates of road traffic and other accidents. The rate of occupational injury mortality did not change significantly over time (-2% per year, 95%CI -5%,+2%). Unnatural deaths were less frequent in this cohort of workers than in the South African population (IRR 0.89, 95%CI 0.82-0.95), particularly homicides (IRR 0.48, 95%CI 0.42-0.55).<h4>Conclusions/significance</h4>Unnatural deaths were a common cause of preventable and premature death in this cohort of miners. While unnatural death rates declined between 1992 and 2008, occupational fatalities remained at a high level. Evidence-based prevention strategies to address these avoidable deaths are urgently needed.Megan S C LimJill MurrayRobert J DowdeswellJudith R GlynnPam SonnenbergPublic Library of Science (PLoS)articleMedicineRScienceQENPLoS ONE, Vol 6, Iss 9, p e22807 (2011)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Megan S C Lim Jill Murray Robert J Dowdeswell Judith R Glynn Pam Sonnenberg Unnatural deaths in South African platinum miners, 1992-2008.
description	<h4>Background</h4>The mortality rate from unnatural deaths for South Africa is nearly double the world average. Reliable data are limited by inaccurate and incomplete ascertainment of specific causes of unnatural death. This study describes trends in causes of unnatural death between 1992 and 2008 in a cohort of South African miners.<h4>Methodology/principal findings</h4>The study used routinely-collected retrospective data with cause of death determined from multiple sources including the mine's human resources database, medical records, death registration, and autopsy. Cause-specific mortality rates and Poisson regression coefficients were calculated by calendar year and age group. The cohort included 40,043 men. One quarter of all 2937 deaths were from unnatural causes (n = 805). Causes of unnatural deaths were road traffic accidents 38% (109/100,000 py), homicides 30% (88/100,000 py), occupational injuries 17% (50/100,000 py), suicides 8% (24/100,000 py), and other accidents 6% (19/100,000 py). Rates of unnatural deaths declined by 2% (95%CI -4%,-1%) per year over the study period, driven by declining rates of road traffic and other accidents. The rate of occupational injury mortality did not change significantly over time (-2% per year, 95%CI -5%,+2%). Unnatural deaths were less frequent in this cohort of workers than in the South African population (IRR 0.89, 95%CI 0.82-0.95), particularly homicides (IRR 0.48, 95%CI 0.42-0.55).<h4>Conclusions/significance</h4>Unnatural deaths were a common cause of preventable and premature death in this cohort of miners. While unnatural death rates declined between 1992 and 2008, occupational fatalities remained at a high level. Evidence-based prevention strategies to address these avoidable deaths are urgently needed.
format	article
author	Megan S C Lim Jill Murray Robert J Dowdeswell Judith R Glynn Pam Sonnenberg
author_facet	Megan S C Lim Jill Murray Robert J Dowdeswell Judith R Glynn Pam Sonnenberg
author_sort	Megan S C Lim
title	Unnatural deaths in South African platinum miners, 1992-2008.
title_short	Unnatural deaths in South African platinum miners, 1992-2008.
title_full	Unnatural deaths in South African platinum miners, 1992-2008.
title_fullStr	Unnatural deaths in South African platinum miners, 1992-2008.
title_full_unstemmed	Unnatural deaths in South African platinum miners, 1992-2008.
title_sort	unnatural deaths in south african platinum miners, 1992-2008.
publisher	Public Library of Science (PLoS)
publishDate	2011
url	https://doaj.org/article/d574924bee504400a92230d96c3fbe5f
work_keys_str_mv	AT megansclim unnaturaldeathsinsouthafricanplatinumminers19922008 AT jillmurray unnaturaldeathsinsouthafricanplatinumminers19922008 AT robertjdowdeswell unnaturaldeathsinsouthafricanplatinumminers19922008 AT judithrglynn unnaturaldeathsinsouthafricanplatinumminers19922008 AT pamsonnenberg unnaturaldeathsinsouthafricanplatinumminers19922008
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Unnatural deaths in South African platinum miners, 1992-2008.

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