Leading Causes of Injuries Data

In Ottawa:

• In 2012, there were 319 injury deaths, representing 6% of all deaths. 
• The top three causes of injury deaths were falls, suicide, and unintentional poisonings and overdose.
• In the past 10 years there have been changes in the pattern of the leading causes of injury deaths (counts and rates). Falls became the leading cause of injury-related death in 2008, surpassing suicide.  The number and rate of deaths related to unintentional poisonings and drug overdose rose from 2008 to 2012 (Figure 1).
• The increase in fall-related deaths and death rates occurred primarily among older adults (80 years of age and older). 

Figure 1. The top three leading causes of injury death for Ottawa residents, all ages, from 2000 to 2012 

Data Source and Notes for Figure 1

Ontario Mortality Data (2000-2012). Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care IntelliHealth Ontario. Falls [ICD-10-CA W00-W19]; Suicide [ICD-10-CA X60-X84, Y87.0]; Unintentional poisonings/overdose [ICD-10-CA X40-X49].

• The data represent deaths for Ottawa residents. The injury event leading to death may have taken place outside of Ottawa.

Data Table for Figure 1

Table 1. Number of deaths due to the top three leading causes of injury deaths for Ottawa residents, all ages, from 2000 to 2012

In Ottawa:

• Unintentional and intentional injuries to residents accounted for over 92,200 emergency department (ED) visits in 2017. Approximately 6,600 of these visits were hospitalized. 
• Falls were the leading cause of injury-related ED visits (28,367) (Figure 2), hospitalizations (2,749) (Figure 3), and deaths (132). 
• Falls were the leading cause of injury-related hospitalization in all age groups, with the exception of 15 to 24 year olds (Table 4). Self-harm was the leading cause of injury-related hospitalization for 15 to 24 year olds. 

Figure 2. Leading causes of injury-related emergency department visits for Ottawa residents, all ages, 2017

Figure 3. Leading causes of injury-related hospitalizations for Ottawa residents, all ages, 2017

Data Source and Notes for Figure 3

Hospitalizations resulting from unscheduled emergency department visits, National Ambulatory Care System (2017). Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care IntelliHealth Ontario. Extracted June 8, 2018

• MVTC = Motor vehicle traffic collisions.
• Not all categories are mutually exclusive and unless stated, some of the injury categories (e.g. cycling, falls, drowning) may overlap with the sport & recreation category.
• The approach to reporting leading causes of injury here is different from the way others have reported the leading causes of injury.
  • It includes a sport and recreational injury category, utilizing Canadian-specific U99 activity codes for ED and hospitalization data, which are not mandatory in the hierarchy of coding sport and recreational injuries. The U99 activity codes are suggested for use in describing further, the activity of the injured person at the time the event occurred. For example, a person who fell while playing ice hockey would be coded as W00 (Fall on same level involving ice and snow) and U99.011 (Ice hockey). While we have used the U99 codes to tease out sport and recreation specific codes from categories where there is common (>5%) overlap (i.e., falls, overexertion), the categories are not all mutually exclusive. For example, a person who was bitten by a dog and fell while out for a run would be coded as W54 (Bitten or struck by dog), W01 (Fall on same level from slipping, tripping and stumbling) and U99.050 (Running) and would be counted in the sport and recreation and the natural environment categories, but would not be included in the falls, non-sports category.
  • Another difference is that others have defined MVTC as a broader category, whereas we have separate categories for car/van/truck/motorcyclist occupants, pedestrians, public transit/bus/train occupants and cyclists injured in a transport collision.
  • Due to these differences, the rankings should not be compared to other rankings of leading causes of injury morbidity and mortality.
• The following ICD-10-CA codes were used to categorize the injuries:

ICD-10-CA Codes for External Causes of Injuries

a “U” codes included only if accompanied with a “S” or “T” code from Chapter XIX. U codes were available for ER visits and hospitalizations only.

Data Table for Figure 3

Table 3. Leading causes of injury-related hospitalizations for Ottawa residents, all ages, 2017

Table 4. Leading causes of injury-related hospitalizations, presented as counts with rates per 100,000 population in brackets, for Ottawa residents by age groups, 2017

Data Source and Notes for Table 4

Hospitalizations resulting from unscheduled emergency department visits, National Ambulatory Care System (2017). Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care IntelliHealth Ontario. Extracted June 8, 2018. 

• MVTC = Motor vehicle traffic collisions.
• Not all categories are mutually exclusive and unless stated, some of the injury categories (e.g. cycling, falls, drowning) may overlap with the sport & recreation category.
• The counts provided include all Ottawa residents seen at emergency departments and subsequently hospitalized in Ontario. Please note that injury events may have taken place outside of Ottawa.
• The approach to reporting leading causes of injury here is different from the way others have reported the leading causes of injury.
  • It includes a sport and recreational injury category, utilizing Canadian-specific U99 activity codes for ED and hospitalization data, which are not mandatory in the hierarchy of coding sport and recreational injuries. The U99 activity codes are suggested for use in describing further, the activity of the injured person at the time the event occurred. For example, a person who fell while playing ice hockey would be coded as W00 (Fall on same level involving ice and snow) and U99.011 (Ice hockey). While we have used the U99 codes to tease out sport and recreation specific codes from categories where there is common (>5%) overlap (i.e., falls, overexertion), the categories are not all mutually exclusive. For example, a person who was bitten by a dog and fell while out for a run would be coded as W54 (Bitten or struck by dog), W01 (Fall on same level from slipping, tripping and stumbling) and U99.050 (Running) and would be counted in the sport and recreation and the natural environment categories, but would not be included in the falls, non-sports category.
  • Another difference is that others have defined MVTC as a broader category, whereas we have separate categories for car/van/truck/motorcyclist occupants, pedestrians, public transit/bus/train occupants and cyclists injured in a transport collision.
  • Due to these differences, the rankings should not be compared to other rankings of leading causes of injury morbidity and mortality.
• The following ICD-10-CA codes were used to categorize the injuries:

ICD-10-CA Codes for External Causes of Injuries

a “U” codes included only if accompanied with a “S” or “T” code from Chapter XIX. U codes were available for ER visits and hospitalizations only.