Temporal and geographic patterns of stab injuries in young people: a retrospective cohort study from a UK major trauma centre

ObjectivesTo describe the epidemiology of assaults resulting in stab injuries among young people. We hypothesised that there are specific patterns and risk factors for injury in different age groups.DesignEleven-year retrospective cohort study.SettingUrban major trauma centre in the UK.Participants1824 patients under the age of 25 years presenting to hospital after a stab injury resulting from assault.OutcomesIncident timings and locations were obtained from ambulance service records and triangulated with prospectively collected demographic and injury characteristics recorded in our hospital trauma registry. We used geospatial mapping of individual incidents to investigate the relationships between demographic characteristics and incident timing and location.ResultsThe majority of stabbings occurred in males from deprived communities, with a sharp increase in incidence between the ages of 14 and 18 years. With increasing age, injuries occurred progressively later in the day (r2=0.66, p