The intent now is to present causes of death that are related to the environments in which people live. The discussion begins with accidental deaths. While some accidental deaths are beyond a person's control, many are preventable-particularly those involving infants and children. It is interesting to note that the number one cause of accidental deaths in all age groups is motor vehicular. Moreover, motor vehicle accidents are the overall leading cause of death for children and adolescents.
Homicide is another significant environmental cause of death.
Homicide in youngsters is most often secondary to child abuse, and death is usually caused without the use of weapons. In contrast, for adolescents, perpetrators are more likely to be acquaintances. People are most likely to be killed by a family member-particularly those family members who are not blood related. An interesting aside-murder is the number one cause of death at the work place. That brings the discussion to occupational hazards.