Drowning Death Rates Are Sinking

The number of deaths by unintentional drowning in the United States has significantly reduced over the last ten years, with the most notable decline among infants, according to recent statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

According to the World Health Organization, drowning is the third leading cause of death from unintentional injury worldwide, with young children being at the greatest risk.

With the warm seasons fast approaching in the United States, people will soon be breaking out their swimsuits. Before they do, the CDC has some good news for them.

According to a recent report published on Tuesday, drowning rates in the U.S. have sharply declines over the past decade, with the number of people dying from unintentional drowning  dropping by nine percent between 1999 and 2010.

According to the data, overall drowning rates dropped among all younger age groups, with children under one year old seeing the steepest decline. In 2000, an estimated two out of every 100,000 infants dies from downing each year; but by 2010, that rate had dropped by half. Toddlers from one to four years old also saw a decline by about 17.5 percent, between 1999 and 2010, but still account for the largest portion of U.S. drowning deaths each year.

Unfortunately, while most age demographics saw a decrease in drowning, 45 to 84 years olds actually saw a rise in drowning deaths, increasing by nearly 10 percent.

Jiquan Xu, M.D., the author of the report, did not offer any explanation as to why fewer overall drownings are occurring each year, but other experts have suggested that public health efforts regarding increased pool and bath safety standards, especially for young children, have been gaining steam in recent years, according to the Washington Post.

The CDC drowning death report was published on April 15.