Characteristics of the drowned in Khuzestan, south west of Iran

Drowning is recognized as a major global public health problem with significant opportunities for prevention. The aim of this study was to examine the incidence and characteristics of the drowned in Khuzestan province. Subjects and We analyzed 2002–2006 data from the Legal Medicine Organization (LMO) of Khuzestan province, through a retrospective study. During 2002 to 2006, a total of 834 persons suffered fatal drowning in Khuzestan province. The mean age was 21.6±12.8 and M/F ratio was 4.8:1. The most common age groups of drowned victims were 15-19 (25.3%) and 20-24 (22.1%) years (7.3 and 6.5 per 100 000 population/year, respectively). Victims under the age of 15 years (including age groups of 0-4, 5-9 and 10-14 years) comprised 24.3% of all drowning deaths. Rivers and canals were the locations with the highest number of drowned victims (74.7% and 11.3% respectively). Most of drowned victims (94.5%) were native. The manner of death was found as following: 88.7% accidental, 2.3% suicidal, 0.7% homicidal and 8.3% undetermined. Khuzestan province has a mean drowning rate of 3.9 per 100 000 population-year which has second ranking in the drowning related mortality after Mazandaran province (7.6 per 100 000 population-year). Effective prevention of drowning requires programming and policies that address known risk factors.