One of the largest studies of its kind confirms that young blacks -- especially males -- are much more likely to drown in pools than whites

HealthDay:

In fact, almost half of all recorded drowning deaths among people aged 5 to 24 are among blacks, according to the study in the April issue of the American Journal of Public Health. Blacks are especially likely to drown in motel and hotel pools, while whites tend to drown in private pools.

Researchers don't know why black kids are at higher risk of drowning. Still, "this tells us what kinds of pools we need to target when we're creating interventions," said study author Gitanjali Saluja, a researcher with the U.S. National Institute of Child Health & Human Development.

Saluja and colleagues examined a federal database of 678 drowning deaths in the United States from 1995-1998. All the victims were aged 5-24.

Seventy-five percent of the drowning victims were male, and 47 percent were black. Thirty-three percent were white, and 12 percent were Latino. About 13 percent of the U.S. population are black and about 13 percent are Latino, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Most of the black victims -- 51 percent -- drowned in public pools. By contrast, 55 percent of white victims drowned in private pools.

Why the difference? "Part of it might be exposure and access," Saluja said. The victims "probably tend to drown more in the places that they visited more."

The study also found that regardless of race, people from poorer families were more likely to drown.

Study examines where kids drown

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