Evidence map›Paper›PMID 27747545›Full record

ArticleInjury epidemiology2016

Motorcycle helmet effectiveness in reducing head, face and brain injuries by state and helmet law.

Cody S Olsen, Andrea M Thomas, Michael Singleton, Anna M Gaichas, Tracy J Smith, Gary A Smith, Justin Peng, Michael J Bauer, Ming Qu, Denise Yeager and 3 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Injury epidemiology, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
16citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
9.9field-weighted citation impact, top 2% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

16 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 60 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  3. Article
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  12. 'Seeing' Strain in Soft Materials.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2019
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  14. Review
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  16. Injury epidemiology in Iran: a systematic review.Journal of injury & violence research · 2017
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors at 9 institutions in 1 country.

Cody S OlsenDepartment of Pediatrics, Division of Critical Care, University of Utah School of Medicine, 295 Chipeta Way, Salt Lake City, UT, 84108, USA. cody.olsen@hsc.utah.edu.
Andrea M ThomasDepartment of Pediatrics, Division of Critical Care, University of Utah School of Medicine, 295 Chipeta Way, Salt Lake City, UT, 84108, USA.
Michael SingletonDepartment of Biostatistics and Kentucky Injury Prevention and Research Center, University of Kentucky College of Public Health, 333 Waller Ave., Suite 206, Lexington, KY, 40504, USA.
Anna M GaichasMinnesota Department of Health, 85 East Seventh Place, Suite 220, St. Paul, MN, 55164, USA.
Tracy J SmithHealth and Demographics Section, South Carolina Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office, Rembert C. Dennis Building, 1000 Assembly Street, Suite 240, Columbia, SC, 29201, USA.
Gary A SmithCenter for Injury Research and Policy, The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital, The Ohio State University College of Medicine, 700 Children's Drive, Columbus, OH, 43205, USA.
Justin PengConnecticut Department of Public Health, Community, Family and Health Equity Section, Public Health Initiatives Branch, 410 Capitol Avenue, MS# 11-HLS, Hartford, CT, 06134, USA.
Michael J BauerNew York State Department of Health, Bureau of Occupational Health and Injury Prevention, Empire State Plaza, Corning Tower, Room 1325, Albany, NY, 12237, USA.
Ming QuDivision of Public Health, Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, Epidemiology and Health Informatics Unit, PO Box 95026, Lincoln, NE, 68509, USA.
Denise YeagerGeorgia Department of Public Health, Injury Prevention Program, 2 Peachtree Street NW, 10.414, Atlanta, GA, 30303, USA.
Timothy KernsNational Study Center for Trauma and EMS, University of Maryland Baltimore, 110 South Paca Street, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA.
Cynthia BurchNational Study Center for Trauma and EMS, University of Maryland Baltimore, 110 South Paca Street, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA.
Lawrence J CookDepartment of Pediatrics, Division of Critical Care, University of Utah School of Medicine, 295 Chipeta Way, Salt Lake City, UT, 84108, USA.
University of Utah · USUniversity of Maryland, Baltimore · USConnecticut Department of Public Health · USCorning (United States) · USGeorgia Department of Public Health · USMinnesota Department of Health · USNebraska Department of Health and Human Services · USThe Ohio State University · USUniversity of Kentucky · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundDespite evidence that motorcycle helmets reduce morbidity and mortality, helmet laws and rates of helmet use vary by state in the U.S.

methodsWe pooled data from eleven states: five with universal laws requiring all motorcyclists to wear a helmet, and six with partial laws requiring only a subset of motorcyclists to wear a helmet. Data were combined in the Crash Outcome Data Evaluation System's General Use Model and included motorcycle crash records probabilistically linked to emergency department and inpatient discharges for years 2005-2008. Medical outcomes were compared between partial and universal helmet law settings. We estimated adjusted relative risks (RR) and 95 % confidence intervals (CIs) for head, facial, traumatic brain, and moderate to severe head/facial injuries associated with helmet use within each helmet law setting using generalized log-binomial regression.

resultsReported helmet use was higher in universal law states (88 % vs. 42 %). Median charges, adjusted for inflation and differences in state-incomes, were higher in partial law states (emergency department $1987 vs. $1443; inpatient $31,506 vs. $25,949). Injuries to the head and face, including traumatic brain injuries, were more common in partial law states. Effectiveness estimates of helmet use were higher in partial law states (adjusted-RR (CI) of head injury: 2.1 (1.9-2.2) partial law single vehicle; 1.4 (1.2, 1.6) universal law single vehicle; 1.8 (1.6-2.0) partial law multi-vehicle; 1.2 (1.1-1.4) universal law multi-vehicle).

conclusionsMedical charges and rates of head, facial, and brain injuries among motorcyclists were lower in universal law states. Helmets were effective in reducing injury in both helmet law settings; lower effectiveness estimates were observed in universal law states.

Indexed as

ChargesHospital chargesInjuryLegislationLog-binomial regressionMotorcycle helmetMotorcycle helmet lawMotor vehicle crashProbabilistic linkageTraumatic brain injury

Identifiers

PMID27747545
PMCPMC4779790
OpenAlexW2290609364

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.