UK's Kentucky Injury Prevention and Research Center Injuries are the leading cause of death for Americans between the ages of one and 44, and Kentucky continues to follow this nationwide trend.
People have risk factors for injuries just as they do for disease.
Sometimes it's immaturity or lack of skill operating new machinery. Sometimes it's weather conditions. Injury wasn't recognized as a major public health problem in the United States until the 1980s. Congress created the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, the youngest of the 11 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 1989. We are involved in research and also in public health.