First Drowning Report Released

C H I C A G O, July 2 -- The first national study on childhood drowningssuggests that rivers, lakes and ponds pose the biggest threatexcept for children under 5.

The study is based on figures collected from death certificatesfor 1,420 children under age 20 who drowned in 1995. It appears inthe July issue of Pediatrics.

"These national data will greatly assist researchers inunderstanding where and how these deaths occur and in designingeffective programs to prevent drowning," said Dr. Duane Alexander,director of the National Institute of Child Health and HumanDevelopment, which conducted the study.

Among children who died in accidental drownings, 5 percent wereless than a year old and 37 percent were between 1 and 4 years old.Fifteen percent were age 5 to 9, 15 percent were age 10 to 14, and29 percent were between 15 and 19 years old.

Seventy-four percent were male.

Concern Over Public Pools

Forty-seven percent of the drownings happened in freshwater suchas rivers, creeks, lakes and ponds, while 32 percent happened inpools. Only 4 percent were in the ocean.

The most common drowning sites by age group were bathtubs forinfants, pools for 1- to 4-year-olds and fresh water for 5- to19-year-olds.

The study also found that after the age of 5, black males face a12 to 15 times higher risk of drowning in swimming pools thanwhites. While the research doesn't explain the disparity, theauthors' theories include differences in swimming abilities, inopportunities to take swimming lessons and in safety conditions inpools where blacks and whites swim.

"A number of these deaths were in pools accessible to thepublic, rather than in private residential pools. Public poolshadn't been a big area of concern; however, our results present avery different picture," said Dr. Ruth Brenner, the lead authorand a researcher at the NlCHD.

The authors said the findings underscore the importance ofrecommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics, whichinclude constant supervision of infants and young children aroundwater, swimming lessons for all children aged 5 and older, and useof lifejackets or other personal flotation devices when playingnear rivers or lakes.