Incidence and risk factors of non-fatal injuries in Chinese children aged 0–6 years: A case–control study

AimTo identify the incidence and related risk factors of injuries in pre-school children aged 0–6 years in China.MethodsChildren with non-fatal injuries (n = 122) were matched to healthy controls by sex, age, community of residency and history of injury. Conditional multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to estimate the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).ResultsThe overall incidence of injuries was 3.3%. After adjustment for all selected variables, the risk factors for childhood injuries included father's occupation as a self-employed person (OR: 5.7, 95% CI: 1.8–18.5), child's active temperament type (OR: 2.8, 95% CI: 1.5–5.3), inappropriate storage of medicines (OR: 3.1, 95% CI: 1.3–6.9) and inappropriate placement of heating equipments (OR: 2.1, 95% CI: 1.0–4.4). The protective factors included children's acquirements of safety education from their teachers at school (OR: 0.03, 95% CI: 0.01–0.2), and from their parents (OR: 0.08, 95% CI: 0.02–0.3).ConclusionsInterventions targeting the risk factors specifically may help prevent and reduce the occurrence of injuries in young children.