Vulnerable Groups
Children under 5 years old
Children ages 5 and under are at greatest risk for nonfatal poisoning, accounting for the majority of all poisoning exposures. Children ages 4 and under accounted for more than 57 percent of these deaths. In 2003, almost 90,000 children ages 14 and under were treated in hospital emergency rooms for accidental poisoning. Nearly 80 percent of these injuries were to children ages 4 and under.