Akbarpour S¹ ( MSc ), Soori H² * (PhD), Khosravi A³ (PhD), Ghasempouri KH⁴ (MD), Divsalar A⁵ (BSc)

  ¹ Department of social medicine, faculty of medicine, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran

  ² Safty Promotion and Injury Prevention Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

  ³ Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Tehran, Iran

  ⁴ Forensic Medicine research center, Tehran, Iran

  ⁵ Head of Statistics Unit, Department of Forensic Medicince, Mazandaran, Iran

  Received: 16 Jul 2010, Accepted: 16 Apr 2011

  Abstract

  Introduction: Regarding proximity of Caspian Sea to Mazandaran province and lack of information on magnitude of drowning in this province, it seems to be necessary to determine the epidemiologic pattern of drowning in Mazandaran to make efficient planning and intervention programs.

  Methods: Various data sources on drowning in Mazandaran province have been used in this study. After extracting information from various sources and checking for duplications, we reported the results.

  Results: Results showed that during 2008, 273 individuals (91.2% male and 8.8% female) died due to drowning. The mean age of the drowned was 25.3 (SD=11.7) years. Of all, 175 individuals were visitors. Regarding time and place, most of drownings (93.4%) occurred in the sea in August (33%). The drowning death rate in residents was 3.3 per 100,000 populations in the province.

  Conclusion: Considering that the majority drowned in the unproteceted areas, more efforts should be placed to improve and expand protected beaches. Moreover, establishing warning signs might be helpful.

  Key words: Drowning, Mazandaran, Epidemiology

  Hakim Research Journal 2011 14(1): 16- 22.

  * Corresponding Author: Safety Promotion and Injury Prevention Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Evin, Tehran , Iran . Tel: +98- 21- 22439980, Fax: +98- 21- 22439980, E-mail: hsoori@yahoo.com