Bicycling exposure and severe injuries in school-age children. A population-based study
X. Hu, D. E. Wesson, M. L. Chipman and P. C. Parkin
Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario.
OBJECTIVES: To examine exposure to bicycling and its association with
severe bicycle injuries in school-age children in a defined population.
DESIGN: Random-digit dialing telephone survey and analysis of hospital
discharge records. SETTING: Metropolitan Toronto, Ontario. SUBJECTS: Sample
of parents of children aged 5 to 17 years who owned a bicycle; all children
who were admitted to hospitals with bicycle-related injuries from April
1989 to March 1991. MAIN OUTCOMES: Median annual bicycling hours and
distance by age and sex; age- and sex-specific incidence rates by
population at risk, cumulative exposure hours, and riding distances.
RESULTS: More than half of the children of all age groups were exposed to
bicycling more than 100 hours per year. Boys spent more hours and rode
longer distances than girls in every age group. The overall annual injury
rates were 8.1 and 3.4 per 10,000 population at risk for boys and girls,
respectively. About half of the injuries suffered were head injuries. When
rates were estimated on the basis of exposure, boys still experienced a
higher injury rate than girls. Boys displayed a slight increase with age in
rates per unit of exposure hours. Conversely, age appeared to be negatively
associated with overall and head injury rates when exposure was expressed
by distance ridden. CONCLUSIONS: Boys had a higher injury rate than girls,
and bicycle-related injuries are more likely to be associated with exposure
time than distance ridden.
