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American Morning
Study Looks at Preventable Deaths
Aired October 03, 2002 - 08:43 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: We are talking health news now, and actually talking accidents, which are the number one killer, believe it or not, of Americans between the ages of 1 and 44, and a lot of those accidents happen at home. Results of the largest study ever done on home safety are just out. There are some surprising facts about the risks that we face in the very place that you would think you would be the safest.
Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins us now from our CNN home in Atlanta -- Sanjay, good morning.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn. Yes, that is a really remarkable statistic isn't it? Totally preventable deaths between the age of 1 and 44 for unintentional injuries, the number one cause of death. We spend all this money on heart disease and cancer research, but these preventable deaths, that just -- that number always, I find very staggering.
Twenty thousand of those deaths, as you said, Daryn, actually occur in the home, and that costs society, incidentally almost $400 billion a year. So, just some Remember that in the back of your head there.
KAGAN: Some of the different problems, some very basic things. Stairs and railings, something you might know about, Dr. Gupta, having a little accident of your own recently.
GUPTA: That's right. I fall down the stairs. Thanks for pointing that out.
KAGAN: All right.
GUPTA: They break it down into all sorts of different accidents that occur in the home, and some of them really aren't surprising. But let's look at some of the most common accidents. Falls, as you already mentioned sort of comprise the largest number of types of accidents.
And you can see there -- actually killed nearly 7,000 people just a few years ago. A couple of the reasons, 1/3 of the homes actually lack handrails of any sort. That is an obvious cause. Three quarters of the homes with second story windows lacked locks, and Daryn, nothing more tragic than actually hearing the stories about kids falling out of those second story windows.
Next most common type of injury is actually poisoning. The poisoning actually kills 6,000 people, almost the same number. Eighty-two percent of homes keep medicines in unlocked cabinets. Kids can get into those very easily. Household chemicals also a big culprit. It is not just kids either. Middle-aged adults accidentally taking incorrect doses of prescriptions, things like that.
Burns also a big problem. Many homes have done a better job about actually having smoke detectors in the home, 97 percent. But only 19 percent of homes actually test the smoke alarms quarterly. You are supposed to test them quarterly. That doesn't happen.
Another point I will just point out as well, Daryn, is hot water heaters. A lot of burns actually occur from people, actually, for the first time, turning their hot water all the way up and actually scalding themselves or putting a child into the shower or the bathtub with scalding water. You have got to check those hot water heaters as well.
Those are real problems.
KAGAN: Sanjay, I know a lot of times in the stories that you do, you like to point out the differences between men and women, and I thought one thing that was interesting in this study is that women are more likely to get emergency care when they get hurt, but men are 70 percent more likely to die from this type of accident.
GUPTA: Yes. It is an interesting statistic, no question about it. I think a lot of times, just the magnitude of injury is not always realized, and some of these injuries can be very, very severe if you don't actually get medical attention. What otherwise could have been a very preventable injury, a very preventable death could turn into either of those things if you don't seek the medical care. And there is good medical care for all of these preventable deaths.
KAGAN: That there are, and be careful at home. We know that all too well.
GUPTA: Absolutely.
KAGAN: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, thank you so much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired October 3, 2002 - 08:43 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: We are talking health news now, and actually talking accidents, which are the number one killer, believe it or not, of Americans between the ages of 1 and 44, and a lot of those accidents happen at home. Results of the largest study ever done on home safety are just out. There are some surprising facts about the risks that we face in the very place that you would think you would be the safest.
Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins us now from our CNN home in Atlanta -- Sanjay, good morning.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn. Yes, that is a really remarkable statistic isn't it? Totally preventable deaths between the age of 1 and 44 for unintentional injuries, the number one cause of death. We spend all this money on heart disease and cancer research, but these preventable deaths, that just -- that number always, I find very staggering.
Twenty thousand of those deaths, as you said, Daryn, actually occur in the home, and that costs society, incidentally almost $400 billion a year. So, just some Remember that in the back of your head there.
KAGAN: Some of the different problems, some very basic things. Stairs and railings, something you might know about, Dr. Gupta, having a little accident of your own recently.
GUPTA: That's right. I fall down the stairs. Thanks for pointing that out.
KAGAN: All right.
GUPTA: They break it down into all sorts of different accidents that occur in the home, and some of them really aren't surprising. But let's look at some of the most common accidents. Falls, as you already mentioned sort of comprise the largest number of types of accidents.
And you can see there -- actually killed nearly 7,000 people just a few years ago. A couple of the reasons, 1/3 of the homes actually lack handrails of any sort. That is an obvious cause. Three quarters of the homes with second story windows lacked locks, and Daryn, nothing more tragic than actually hearing the stories about kids falling out of those second story windows.
Next most common type of injury is actually poisoning. The poisoning actually kills 6,000 people, almost the same number. Eighty-two percent of homes keep medicines in unlocked cabinets. Kids can get into those very easily. Household chemicals also a big culprit. It is not just kids either. Middle-aged adults accidentally taking incorrect doses of prescriptions, things like that.
Burns also a big problem. Many homes have done a better job about actually having smoke detectors in the home, 97 percent. But only 19 percent of homes actually test the smoke alarms quarterly. You are supposed to test them quarterly. That doesn't happen.
Another point I will just point out as well, Daryn, is hot water heaters. A lot of burns actually occur from people, actually, for the first time, turning their hot water all the way up and actually scalding themselves or putting a child into the shower or the bathtub with scalding water. You have got to check those hot water heaters as well.
Those are real problems.
KAGAN: Sanjay, I know a lot of times in the stories that you do, you like to point out the differences between men and women, and I thought one thing that was interesting in this study is that women are more likely to get emergency care when they get hurt, but men are 70 percent more likely to die from this type of accident.
GUPTA: Yes. It is an interesting statistic, no question about it. I think a lot of times, just the magnitude of injury is not always realized, and some of these injuries can be very, very severe if you don't actually get medical attention. What otherwise could have been a very preventable injury, a very preventable death could turn into either of those things if you don't seek the medical care. And there is good medical care for all of these preventable deaths.
KAGAN: That there are, and be careful at home. We know that all too well.
GUPTA: Absolutely.
KAGAN: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, thank you so much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
