Most Drownings in the U.S. Happen in Natural Waters

Around five million pools have been recalled in the United States and Canada after at least nine children died by drowning, according to the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission. The Bestway, Intex, and Polygroup 48-inches and taller above-ground pools were recalled on Monday. The CPSC stated: “The compression strap that surrounds the outside of the pool legs may create a foothold, allowing a child access to the pool, posing a drowning risk.”

According to the watchdog organization, children can still gain access to the pools using these footholds even if the ladder is removed. CPSC believes that nine children between the ages of 22 months and 3 years old have drowned after gaining such access to the pools, with the incidents having occurred in California, Texas, Florida, Michigan, Wisconsin and Missouri between 2007 and 2022.

Each year in the U.S. around 4,000 people die by unintentional deaths, while a further 8,000 people experience nonfatal drownings that require treatment in an emergency department, according to a 2020 analysis by CDC researchers. Drowning is one of the leading causes of unintentional injury death among people aged 29 years and younger in the United States.

The 2020 report found that men were far more likely to die in bodies of water from drowning than women. According to the World Health Organization, this is partly due to males being more likely to engage in risky activities that can lead to drowning, such as swimming alone and at night, as well as being less likely to wear lifejackets and more likely to consume alcohol at higher rates around water activities. Men are also more likely to be involved in work that has a higher exposure to hazardous work near water, such as fishing, construction and transport.

As this chart shows, men were most likely to die in natural waters of the three studied options. Looking at both sexes, the age group with the highest drowning rate in bathtubs was infants aged <1 year, while in swimming pools it was children aged 1–4 years and in natural water was persons aged ≥15 years.

According to the WHO's global status report on drowning prevention, a higher number of drownings happen during heatwaves. This is linked to higher levels of alcohol consumption and people spending longer periods of time in water. Meanwhile, a lesser talked about factor is mental health. The WHO states that, according to a small proportion of high-income countries with the available data, suicide may account for up to 42 percent of national drowning deaths, with older age and psychiatric illnesses known risk factors.