welanderbicycleinjurieswesternsweden1999.md 5.7 KB
category: literaturenote citekey: welanderbicycleinjurieswesternsweden1999 title: "Bicycle injuries in Western Sweden: a comparison between counties" authors: "Welander, Glenn; Ekman, Robert; Svanström, Leif; Schelp, Lothar; Karlsson, Anders" year: 1999 date: 1999-00-00 1999 doi: 10.1016/s0001-4575(98)00040-2 publication: "Accident Analysis & Prevention" url: "https://doi.org/10.1016/s0001-4575(98)00040-2" zotero_key: M56E8IKU zotero_storage: JNRZG9EV collections: transpordi_planeerimine folder: 001_artiklid firstAuthor: "Welander, Glenn"
status: converted
Anders Karlsson a a Karolinska Institute, Department of Public Health Sciences, *Di*6ision of Social Medicine, Norrbacka, SE-171 76 Stockholm, Sweden b Falko¨ping, Safe Community, Sweden c National Institute of Public Health, Stockholm, Sweden Received 17 November 1997; received in revised form 5 June 1998
The objectives of the study were to investigate whether there are differences in the incidence of bicycle-related injuries by geographic district (county), age, and gender in Sweden's Western Road Administration Region, and to utilize any detected differences to suggest priorities for intervention and prevention. Injury data come from the Swedish national hospital-discharge registry and a specialized national register of occupational injuries. Both bodily injuries in general and head injuries in particular show intra-regional differences. The rural part of Skaraborg County was shown to have a significantly higher injury incidence than other parts of the Western Region. Females generally show a lower incidence than males, but older women are more likely to be seriously injured than younger (age-related differences being greater than for males). Some striking findings were found with regard to occupational differences. Females sustain more work-related bicycle injuries than males. Head injuries account for more than half of the bicycle injuries in the Western Region that require hospitalization. All this indicates that targeted measures are required. Some studies have shown that the use of bicycle helmets reduces the incidence of head injuries, the degree of their severity, and the number of bicycle-related fatalities. There is a need for mandatory helmet-wearing legislation, which must go hand-in-hand with special efforts to reach groups with a low rate of helmet wearing, in particular those in the middle age range. Although the grown-up/older cycling population has been the subject of targeted action in some countries, the focus of preventive activity has generally been on children. The results of the study suggest the need for further injury-related research into adult
Glenn Welander a,b,*, Robert Ekman a,b, Leif Svanstro¨m a
Keywords: Bicycle helmets; Bicycle-related injuries; Injury prevention; Epidemiology; Work-related injuries; Head injuries
, Lothar Schelp a,c,
United States, 2.8% in Canada, 5.3% in the United Kingdom, 9.1% in Sweden, 11.2% in Denmark, and 18.6% in The Netherlands (FORS, 1992; United Nations, 1993). When comparing these statistics, however, it should be remembered that distance cycled as a proportion of all distance traveled varies between countries. Bicycle injuries in Sweden, especially those resulting in head injuries, lead to the consumption of substantial health-care and other community resources, and have a severe impact on individuals and their environment (Ekman et al., 1991). Internationally, the main focus of prevention programs has been on injuries to children (many favorable results have been reported for younger age groups), but some interventions, e.g. in Australia and New Zealand, have also concentrated on adults (DiGuiseppi et al., 1989; Cote´ et al., 1992; Scheidt et al., 1992; Rivara et al., 1994; Ekman et al.,
Bicycle injuries in Western Sweden: a comparison between counties
Abstract
1. Introduction
cycling. © 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Sweden, like many European countries, has a cycling tradition of a 100 years or more. Over 6 million people in a population of 8.8 million—of all ages—cycle to and from work, during leisure time, and for the performance of household errands (Lekander, 1995). The bicycle has become an attractive means of transportation for the performance of short-distance tasks, and also for recreation, sport and exercise. There are substantial differences in bicycle-related injury rates world wide, and they also vary considerably between geographic areas within nations. Cycling fatalities comprise 2.1% of all road-traffic deaths in Australia and the
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +46-511-346067; Fax: +46-511-
0001-4575/98/\$ - see front matter © 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
59792; e-mail: glenn.welander@phs.ki.se.
PII: S0001-4575(98)00040-2
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