{
  "abstract": "Background Drowning is the third-leading cause of unintentional injury death worldwide. Although the USA as a whole bears a heavy burden, with approximately 4000 drowning fatalities annually, Texas stands out as a high-risk state for drowning due to its large population, suitable climate for year-round aquatic activities and availability of water-related recreational opportunities.Methods Using mortality data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Wide-ranging ONline Data for Epidemiologic Research online database, this retrospective, cross-sectional study overviews the magnitude and patterns of fatal unintentional drownings among Texans from 1999 to 2020.Results Over the 22-year period, 7737 Texans died from unintentional drowning. An average of 352 drowning deaths occurred annually, with a rate of 1.4 deaths per 100 000 population. The highest proportion of unintentional drownings occurred in natural water settings (eg, lakes, ponds or rivers), accounting for 40% of fatal drownings. Children aged 1–4 years had the highest drowning death rate compared with all other age groups. Male Texans had a drowning death rate three times higher than that of female Texans. Black Texans had a higher drowning death rate than White Texans and Asian or Pacific Islander Texans.Conclusions Drowning remains a significant public health issue in Texas. Data on high-risk groups and settings should be used to strengthen drowning prevention efforts and policy initiatives and encourage more research to address the multifaceted factors contributing to drowning.",
  "authors": [
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "School of Medicine, The University of Texas Health Science Center, Tyler, Texas, USA"
      ],
      "name": "Anushka Abedin"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Injury Epidemiologist (Ret.), Austin, Texas, USA"
      ],
      "name": "David F Zane"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Trauma and Injury Research Center, Dell Children's Medical Center, Austin, Texas, USA",
        "Department of Surgery and Perioperative Care, The University of Texas Dell Medical School, Austin, Texas, USA"
      ],
      "name": "Karla A Lawson"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Trauma and Injury Research Center, Dell Children's Medical Center, Austin, Texas, USA",
        "Kinesiology Department, University of the Incarnate Word, San Antonio, TX, USA"
      ],
      "name": "Molly B Johnson"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Disparities in unintentional drowning fatalities in Texas, USA, 1999–2020",
  "uid": "c9681c3e-da97-530f-a777-438de80efd3c"
}