Epidemiology of violence in a Danish municipality. Changes in the incidence during the 1980s.

A one-year prospective study of injuries caused by violence was performed at the two casualty wards and at the Institute of Forensic Medicine in Arhus, and the results were compared with those of a similar study done six years earlier. Whereas the population at risk increased by 4% to just over a quarter of a million, the number of cases increased by 14% to 1874 (p = 0.06) and the number of persons by 17% to 1726 (p = 0.01). The overall incidence increased for females from 3.0 to 3.7 per 1000 (maximum 7.4 per 1000 females 35-39 years old), and for males from 10.6 to 11.1 per 1000 (maximum 33.4 per 1000 males 15-19 years old). Statistically significant increase of age-specific incidence rates was only found among females 35-49 years old, where, however, also the largest frequency of repeated registrations was noted. As in the former investigation, almost three-fourths of male violence took place at bars and discotheques or on the street, usually associated with unknown person(s), whereas one-half of female violence occurred at home with the partner as the most frequent counterpart. Police recorded cases increased from 16 to 22% (p less than 0.05).