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This Article Figures Only Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: AJPH.2005.075168v1 96/7/1282    most recent Submit a response View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Sapkota, S. Articles by Nolte, K. B. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Sapkota, S. Articles by Nolte, K. B. Related Collections Epidemiology Injury/Emergency Care/Violence Prevention Immigration Mortality

Sanjeeb Sapkota, MBBS, MPH, Harold W. Kohl, III, PhD, Julie Gilchrist, MD, Jay McAuliffe, MD, MPH, Bruce Parks, MD, Bob England, MD, MPH, Tim Flood, MD, C. Mack Sewell, DrPH, Dennis Perrotta, PhD, Miguel Escobedo, MD, MPH, Corrine E. Stern, DO, David Zane, MS and Kurt B. Nolte, MD

Sanjeeb Sapkota and Harold W. Kohl III are with the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Ga. Julie Gilchrist is with the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta. Jay McAuliffe is with the Office of Global Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta. Bruce Parks is with the Forensic Science Center, Pima County Medical Examiner’s Office, Tucson, Ariz. At the time of the study, Bob England was with the Arizona Department of Health Services, Phoenix. Tim Flood is with the Arizona Department of Health Services, Phoenix. C. Mack Sewell is with the New Mexico Department of Health, Santa Fe. At the time of the study, Dennis Perrotta was with the Texas Department of State Health Services, Austin; Miguel Escobedo was with the Texas Department of State Health Services, Public Health Regions 9 and 10, El Paso; and Corrine E. Stern was with the El Paso County Medical Examiner’s Office, El Paso. David Zane is with the Texas Department of State Health Services, Austin. Kurt B. Nolte is with the Office of the Medical Investigator, School of Medicine, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque.

Correspondence: Requests for reprints should be sent to Sanjeeb Sapkota, MBBS, MPH, Mail Stop K-46, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford Hwy NE, Atlanta, GA 30341 (e-mail: ssapkota{at}cdc.gov).

Objectives. We examined the major causes of and risk factors for death among migrants who died while making unauthorized border crossings into the United States from Mexico.

Methods. Decedents were included in the study if (1) their remains were found between January 1, 2002, and December 31, 2003, in any US county along the 650-mi (1040-km) section of the US–Mexican border from Yuma, Ariz, to El Paso, Tex; (2) their immigration status was unauthorized; and (3) they were believed to have died during transit from Mexico to the United States. Characteristics of the decedents and causes of and risk factors for their deaths were examined.

Results. Among the 409 decedents meeting our inclusion criteria, environmental heat exposure (n=250; 61.1%) was the leading cause of death, followed by vehicle crashes (n=33; 8.1%) and drownings (n=24; 5.9%). Male decedents (n= 298; 72.8%) outnumbered female decedents (n = 105; 25.6%) nearly 3 to 1. More than half of the decedents were known to be Mexican nationals (n=235; 57.5%) and were aged 20 to 39 years (n=213; 52.0%); the nationality of 148 (36.2%) decedents was undetermined.

Conclusions. Deaths among migrants making unauthorized crossings of the US–Mexican border are due to causes that are largely preventable. Prevention strategies should target young Mexican men, and focus on preventing them from conceiving plans to cross the border, discouraging them from using dangerous routes as crossing points, and providing search-and-rescue teams to locate lost or injured migrant crossers.