skiing and snowboarding. Nevertheless, a significant proportion of the population do not use it while practicing these sports. Recently, six provinces in Canada.
Marie-Laurence Prévost1-2, Natalie Le Sage1-2 MD PhD, Brice Lionel Batomen Kuimi2 MSc, Ann-Pier Gagnon2, Virginie Bergeron-Larose2 BSc 1Département
de Médecine Familiale et Médecine d’Urgence (DMFMU), Faculté de Médecine, Université Laval, Quebec, Canada; 2CHU de Québec Research Center, Populations health and optimal health practices Unit, Quebec, Canada.
Introduction
In the current literature, several studies have documented the effectiveness of helmet use when practicing certain sports to prevent craniofacial injuries and their complications. These data concern especially cycling, skiing and snowboarding. Nevertheless, a significant
The main objective of the study consists in estimating the association between helmet wearing and the risk of hospitalization following a sports injury.
Methods
proportion of the population do not use it while practicing these sports. Recently, six provinces in Canada have introduced legislation to force helmet wearing for cycling. In provinces where such legislation is effective, new data seem to show a decrease in the hospitalization
Results Table 1 Description and comparison of sociodemographic characteristics of the study population and type of sport practiced, depending on the helmet wearing Patients wearing a helmet n(%)
Total
Total population
147 (68.7)
214 (100)
Sex (M)
101 (64.7)
156 (72.9)
Characteristics
Inclusion criteria Trauma in any of the following sports: cycling, skiing, snowboarding, hockey, skateboarding, baseball, horseback riding, soccer, rollerblading, dekhockey, climbing, kite surfing, skydiving and lacrosse. Emergency Department of HEJ-CHU de Québec Any ages
Exclusion criteria Patient incapable of consenting Patient does not understand French or English
Patient questionnaire
Sociodemographic characteristics, helmet wearing Type of sports and injuries Reason mentioned by the patient for not wearing helmet (if applicable)
Data analysis
Comparison of proportions (univariate analyses) Risk calculation (multivariate analyses of Binomial Logistic Regression)
rate for head injuries among cyclists. We hypothesized that the helmet wearing could be associated with a decline of the proportion of patients hospitalized following sports injuries.
Age
