Road accidents are the biggest non-disease killers of men in the country and suicides the biggest killers of women, shows an analysis of National Crime Records Bureau data for 2013.
The NCRB data is a compilation of all deaths reported to the police in that year. The vast majority of deaths in the country, however, are on account of diseases, which the NCRB does not count. Of the 95 lakh annual deaths in the country in 2013, only 5.7 lakh people died of unnatural reasons such as murder, natural disaster, accident and suicide.
Road accidents killed over 1.17 lakh men in 2013, more than the number killed by the next two biggest causes of unnatural deaths — suicide and murder — put together. Train accidents and drowning round off the top five causes of unnatural deaths for men.
For women, however, suicides are the biggest cause of unnatural deaths, killing over 44,000 annually. Last year, an international study led by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation found that suicide had become the leading cause of death in women aged 15-49 in India, ahead of maternal disorders related to child birth, the historic big killer of women in developing countries. Road accidents come next killing over 20,000 women annually, followed by fire, poisoning and murder.
“These causes have a lot to do with occupational status in India. The bulk of travel for work is by men, and the road and rail accident statistics reflect that,” P. Arokiasamy, professor in the department of Development Studies at the International Institute of Population Studies and expert on fertility and mortality, told The Hindu . “Similarly for women, fire — whether accidents in the kitchen or for mala fide reasons — is a major cause of death,” Dr. Arokiasamy said.
Accidents are a major cause of death among younger adults, but for those 60 and above, non-communicable diseases are the biggest cause of deaths, he said. Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu account for a third of all road accidents. “Family problems” are the biggest official cause of suicides for both men and women.
Published - July 03, 2014 02:45 am IST
