In 1998, 4,406 people drowned, including
1,003 children under the age of 15.
Drowning is the second leading cause of
injury-related death among children under 15.
In 1998, males accounted for 81 percent of
people who drowned in the U.S.
Between 60 and 90 percent of drowning among
children aged 0-4 occur in residential pools; more than half of these occur at the child's own
home.
Compared with in-ground pools without
four-sided fencing, 60 percent fewer drowning occur in in-ground pools with four-sided
isolation fencing.
Alcohol use is involved in 25-50 percent of
adolescent and adult deaths associated with water recreation.
Alcohol is a major contributing factor in
up to 50 percent of drowning among adolescent boys.
The state with the highest rate of
unintentional drowning per 100,00 population in 1998 was Alaska with 47 drowning deaths
(representing 7.4 deaths per 100,000 people). However, the state with the most number of
drowning was Florida at 396.
For boys between the ages of 1 and 3 who
have drowned, most of the victims were being supervised by one or both parents at the time of
the drowning.
Children under the age of one most often
drown in bathtubs, buckets, and toilets.
Children between the ages of 1 and 4 most
often drown in swimming pools, hot tubs, and spas.
Children between the ages of 5 and 14 most
often drown in swimming pools and open water, like lakes and rivers.
