The Leading Cause of Injury Deaths is Unwaveringly 'Self-Harm and Suicide'

The leading cause of death due to injuries in 2021 was self-harm and suicide. In South Korea, self-harm and suicide continue to be the most common causes of injury-related deaths.

According to the 13th National Injury Comprehensive Statistics released by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency on the 14th, approximately 2.96 million injury patients required treatment at hospitals and clinics in 2021. Among them, 26,147 died from injuries. Although the number of injury patients has been decreasing since COVID-19, medical expenses related to injuries in 2021 amounted to 5.3 trillion KRW, the highest in the past decade.

In 2021, the leading cause of injury-related deaths was still self-harm and suicide, with 13,352 deaths. This means that 36 to 37 people died from self-harm or suicide every day. Notably, over 70% of injury deaths among those aged 10 to 49 were due to self-harm and suicide. South Korea’s suicide rate stands at 20.1 per 100,000 people, which is 2.3 times higher than the OECD average of 8.7 per 100,000 as of 2019. This unfortunate statistic places South Korea first among the 38 OECD countries in suicide rates. Although deaths from self-harm and suicide have generally declined since 2013 (14,427 deaths), there was a slight increase during the first year of COVID-19 (13,195 deaths).

The number of suicide attempts was about twice as high among women (16,425) compared to men (9,109). Most suicide attempts (80.7%) involved poisoning. An analysis of 23 hospital emergency rooms showed that most injuries from self-harm and suicide occurred at night and early morning, primarily in homes or residential facilities.

The number of deaths from traffic accidents decreased to 3,624 in 2021, compared to 6,502 in 2012. Conversely, deaths from falls and slips increased from 2,104 to 2,722 during the same period.

By life cycle, among children under 10 years old, 2 out of 100 visited emergency rooms due to falls. Among people in their 30s, 7 to 8 out of 1,000 sustained injuries from traffic accidents. Among elderly people aged 70 and above, 3 out of 100 were hospitalized due to falls.

The National Injury Comprehensive Statistics have been published since 2011 to help the government establish effective injury prevention and management programs. Because different government departments oversee injury occurrences based on the target, location, and activity, there have been limitations in grasping the overall scale and risk factors of injuries. To address this, 14 ministries collaborate on this effort.

Ji Young-mi, Director of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, stated, “For effective injury management in the country, it is foundational that various related institutions cooperate to analyze and discuss the diverse impacts of injuries on health and society. We will actively utilize the National Injury Comprehensive Statistics, produced through these efforts, in formulating injury prevention management strategies and policies, and strive to establish a foundation for systematic and integrated management of injury issues.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.