(CNN) -- An estimated 1.4 million children under the age of 3 were treated in US emergency departments for nursery product-related injuries between 1991 and 2011, according to a new study in the journal Pediatrics -- an average of more than 66,000 injuries per year.

The study found that the nursery products most commonly associated with injuries were baby carriers -- including carriers worn on the body and car seat-style carriers -- cribs and mattresses, strollers and walkers/baby exercisers. Eighty percent of the injuries were caused by a child falling.

The researchers were interested in how children were potentially getting injured from nursery products, in order understand what steps could be taken toward prevention, according to Tracy Mehan, manager of translational research with the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children's Hospital, who was not involved with the new study.

The products most linked to injuries

Researchers from the Center for Injury Research and Policy used data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System, a database operated by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission that monitors consumer product-related injuries. They looked at childhood injuries associated with nursery products such as cribs and mattresses, strollers, carriers and walkers and exercisers.

Although other studies have looked at injuries associated with specific nursery products, such as cribs and baby walkers, the researchers said this is the first to use nationally representative data to investigate injuries across a broad range of products.

Over the 21-year study period, an average of more than 66,000 children younger than 3 were sent to emergency departments for nursery product-related injuries each year. More than half of all injuries occurred during the first year of life, with the highest proportion among infants 6 months to 11 months old (35.5%). More boys (54.9%) were injured than girls, and a majority of injuries occurred at home (87.9%).

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