Pre-Existing Medical Conditions: A Systematic Literature Review of a Silent Contributor to Adult Drowning

Amy E. Peden, Danielle H. Taylor and Richard C. Franklin
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Amy E. Peden: School of Population Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of New South Wales, Kensington, NSW 2052, Australia
Danielle H. Taylor: College of Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia
Richard C. Franklin: College of Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 14, 1-33

Abstract: Medical conditions can increase drowning risk. No prior study has systematically reviewed the published evidence globally regarding medical conditions and drowning risk for adults. MEDLINE (Ovid), PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus, PsycINFO (ProQuest) and SPORTDiscus databases were searched for original research published between 1 January 2005 and 31 October 2021 that reported adult (≥15 years) fatal or non-fatal drowning of all intents and pre-existing medical conditions. Conditions were grouped into the relevant International Classifications of Diseases (ICD) codes. Eighty-three studies were included (85.5% high-income countries; 38.6% East Asia and Pacific region; 75.9% evidence level III-3). Diseases of the nervous system (n = 32 studies; 38.6%), mental and behavioural conditions (n = 31; 37.3%) and diseases of the circulatory system (n = 25; 30.1%) were the most common categories of conditions. Epilepsy was found to increase the relative risk of drowning by 3.8 to 82 times, with suggested preventive approaches regarding supervised bathing or showering. Drowning is a common suicide method for those with schizophrenia, psychotic disorders and dementia. Review findings indicate people with pre-existing medical conditions drown, yet relatively few studies have documented the risk. There is a need for further population-level research to more accurately quantify drowning risk for pre-existing medical conditions in adults, as well as implementing and evaluating population-level attributable risk and prevention strategies.

Keywords: pre-existing medical condition; drown; epilepsy; cardiac; injury; suicide; dementia; depression; ischaemic heart disease; seizure (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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