Electrical injuries in occupational and non-occupational settings over a decade in Colombia: Cross-sectional study

<h2>Abstract</h2><h3>Background</h3> Annually, electrical injuries affect 1.2 million people worldwide, and up to 40 % injured people have long time complications. This study aims to identify factors related to electrical injuries in occupational and non-occupational settings. <h3>Methods</h3> A cross-sectional study was conducted using an anonymized public database about electrical injuries in Colombia (2010–2019). Sociodemographic characteristics were described (counts [%], incidence/100,000 people), and a binary logistic regression model was applied to identify factors related (adjusted for age and sex; aOR, IC95 %) to electrical injuries in occupational and non-occupational settings. <h3>Results</h3> 3009 electrical injuries were analyzed, 2452 in non-occupational settings, and 557 in occupational settings, mostly men (87.0 %), and the median age was 30 years. Burns (49.7 %) and deaths (29.2 %) were the most frequent outcomes, respectively, in occupational and non-occupational settings. Factors related to electrical injuries in occupational settings were male sex (13.4; 6.31–28.5), adulthood (5.80; 4.54–7.42), high school/technical education (24.6; 18.4–32.9), rural areas (3.47; 2.85–4.23), daytime ocurrence (2.32; 1.65–3.26), and the median time to the event was 20 months (Kaplan Meier: CI95 %); In non-occupational settings, they were early childhood (25.2; 9.25–68.8) and adolescence (41.9; 5.88–299.7), primary education level (3.12; 2.24–4.35), urban areas (3.47; 2.85–4.23), and nighttime ocurrence (2.32; 1.65–3.26). <h3>Conclusions</h3> In Colombia, electrical injuries mainly ocurred in non-occupational settings. Implementing public health measures targeting high-risk groups identified in factors associated with these injuries, particularly in homes and outdoor environments, could potentially prevent at least 67.8 % of these incidents.