OBJECTIVE: To detect and explain changing trends in incidence, case
fatality rates, and mortality for unintentional injuries in the
Netherlands for the years 1950 through 1995. METHODS: Using national
registry data, the authors analyzed trends in traffic injuries,
occupational injuries, and home and leisure injuries. RESULTS: Between
1950 and 1970, mortality from unintentional injuries rose, reflecting an
increasing incidence of injuries. This was followed by a sharp decline in
mortality due to a decreasing incidence combined with a rapidly falling
case fatality rate. Starting in the second half of the 1980s, the decline
in mortality leveled off as the incidence of several injury subclasses
once again rose. The observed trends reflect several background factors,
including economic fluctuations (influencing exposure), preventive
measures (reducing injury risk and injury severity), and improvements in
trauma care (lowering the severity-adjusted case fatality rate).
CONCLUSIONS: Injury mortality can be reduced through measures that lowe
