ArticleDiving and hyperbaric medicine2019
Snorkelling and breath-hold diving fatalities in Australia, 2001 to 2013. Demographics, characteristics and chain of events.
Article in Diving and hyperbaric medicine, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 19 citations in OpenAlex.
- Snorkelling and Breath-Hold Diving Fatalities in Australia-A Review of 317 Deaths.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Review
- Formulating policies and procedures for managing diving related deaths: a whole of state engagement from frontline and hospital services in Tasmania.Diving and hyperbaric medicine · 2024Article
- Epidemiology of adverse events related to sports among community people: a scoping review.BMJ open · 2024Article
- Effects of hyperventilation on repeated breath-holding while in a fasting state: do risks outweigh the benefits?American journal of physiology. Regulatory, integrative and comparative physiology · 2024Article
- Toward a hyperventilation detection system in freediving: a proof of concept using force sensor technology.Frontiers in physiology · 2024Article
- Snorkelling and breath-hold diving fatalities in Australian waters, 2014 to 2018.Diving and hyperbaric medicine · 2023Article
- Effects of hyperventilation on oxygenation, apnea breaking points, diving response, and spleen contraction during serial static apneas.European journal of applied physiology · 2023Article
- Measured Submersion Times in Underwater Hockey Are Inconsistent With Its Classification as an Extreme Apneic Sport.Cureus · 2023Article
- A review of snorkelling and scuba diving fatalities in Queensland, Australia, 2000 to 2019.Diving and hyperbaric medicine · 2022Review
- Regular medication use by active scuba divers with a declared comorbid medical condition and victims of scuba and snorkelling-related fatalities.Diving and hyperbaric medicine · 2021Observational
- An underappreciated cause of ocean-related fatalities: A systematic review on the epidemiology, risk factors, and treatment of snorkelling-related drowning.Resuscitation plus · 2021Review
- Arterial blood gas measurements during deep open-water breath-hold dives.Journal of applied physiology (Bethesda, Md. : 1985) · 2021Article
- Snorkelling and breath-hold diving fatalities in New Zealand, 2007 to 2016.Diving and hyperbaric medicine · 2021Article
- Fatalities involving divers using surface-supplied breathing apparatus in Australia, 1965 to 2019.Diving and hyperbaric medicine · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
1 author at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionThe aim of this study was to identify characteristics of victims of fatal snorkelling and breath-hold diving accidents in Australia from 2001-2013, inclusive, to determine underlying factors and risks associated with such activities and inform appropriate countermeasures.
methodsThe National Coronial Information System (NCIS) was searched to identify snorkelling and breath-hold diving-related cases reported to Australian coroners for the years 2001-2013, inclusive. Coronial data in the form of findings, witness and police reports, medical histories and autopsies were collected and collated, and descriptive statistics were used to analyse these data. A chain of events analysis was used to determine the likely sequence of events.
resultsThere were 175 identified snorkelling-related fatalities during the study period. Most victims were middle-aged males (mean age 49 years). Pre-existing health conditions were possible contributors to 41% of the deaths, the main being ischaemic heart disease. The majority of deaths occurred in Queensland in inexperienced snorkellers, often in commercial settings. The victim's plight often went unnoticed as they were alone, or poorly supervised, when the incident occurred. Apnoeic hypoxia appeared to have been associated with at least 12.5% of the deaths. The main disabling injuries were asphyxia (40%) and cardiac incidents (35%).
conclusionHuman factors, such as chronic health conditions, poor skills and inexperience and poor planning can play a substantial role throughout the chain of events leading to a snorkelling fatality. It is important to educate the community, doctors and dive industry professionals about potential problems associated with the interaction between certain health-related conditions, especially cardiovascular conditions, and snorkelling. Close supervision is strongly recommended for inexperienced snorkellers due to their likely poor skills, as well as for experienced breath-hold divers due to the potential for apnoeic hypoxia.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.