Fatal accidents and suicide among reindeer-herding Sami in Sweden

• Objective. Over the last decades, reindeer-herding management has experienced drarnatic changes, e.g. increased motorization and socio-econornic pressure. The airn of the present study was to investigate whether these changes have increased the risk of fatal, work-related accidents and suicide between 1961 and 2000. Study design and methods. A c oh ort containing 7,482 members of reindeer-herding Sami families was extracted from national population registers. Information on fatal accidents and suicide was obtained from the Swedish Causes of Death Register, and compared to the expected number of deaths in a dernographica11y matched control population of non-Sami. Results. The ffiale reindeer her- ding Sami showed a significantly increased risk of dying from accidents such as vehicle accidents and poisoning. No significant increased risk of suicide was observed. A comparison between the periods of 1961-1980 and 1981- 2000 showed non-significant differences in risk, although a trend towards incre- ased risks was observed for most types of external causes of death except suicide. Conclusions. It is suggested that the increased socio-econornic pressure and the extensive use of terrain vehicles have increased the risk for fatal accidents arnong Swedish reindeer herders, and that commercial reindeer ma- nagement is one of the most dangerous occupations in Sweden

Nyckelord

Accidents

Occupational mortality statistics & numerical data

Adolescent

Adult

Animals

Child

Child

Preschool

Deer

Ethnic Groups statistics & numerical data

Female

Humans

Infant

Infant

Newborn

Male

Middle Aged

Registries

Risk Factors

Suicide statistics & numerical data

Sweden epidemiology

Publikations- och innehållstyp

ref (ämneskategori)

art (ämneskategori)