Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39379615›Full record

ArticleActa neurochirurgica2024

Bicycle helmets are associated with fewer and less severe head injuries and fewer neurosurgical procedures.

Ingar Næss, Mats Døving, Pål Galteland, Nils Oddvar Skaga, Torsten Eken, Eirik Helseth, Jon Ramm-Pettersen

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Acta neurochirurgica, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Hospitalizations After Bicycle Accidents: Injury Patterns, Severity and Costs.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2026
    Observational
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

7 authors.

Ingar NæssDepartment of Neurosurgery, Oslo University Hospital Ullevål, Nydalen, PO Box 4956, NO-0424, Oslo, Norway. ingar.naess@outlook.com.ORCID 0000-0002-2014-8403
Mats DøvingDepartment of Maxillofacial Surgery, Oslo University Hospital Ullevål, Oslo, Norway.ORCID 0000-0002-2626-4982
Pål GaltelandInstitute of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.ORCID 0000-0001-9363-7905
Nils Oddvar SkagaDepartment of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, Oslo University Hospital Ullevål, Oslo, Norway.ORCID 0000-0002-5181-0447
Torsten EkenInstitute of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.ORCID 0000-0002-5943-4538
Eirik HelsethDepartment of Neurosurgery, Oslo University Hospital Ullevål, Nydalen, PO Box 4956, NO-0424, Oslo, Norway.ORCID 0000-0001-5758-6485
Jon Ramm-PettersenDepartment of Neurosurgery, Oslo University Hospital Ullevål, Nydalen, PO Box 4956, NO-0424, Oslo, Norway.ORCID 0000-0002-9224-5624

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeThis study explores the protective capabilities of bicycle helmets on serious head injury among bicyclists hospitalized in a Norwegian level 1 trauma centre.

methodInformation on helmet use, demographic variables, Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) and surgical procedure codes was retrieved from the Oslo University Hospital Trauma Registry for patients with bicycle-related injuries from 2005 through 2016. Outcomes were serious head injury defined as maximum AIS severity score ≥ 3 in the AIS region Head, any cranial neurosurgical procedure, and 30-day mortality.

resultsA total of 1256 hospitalized bicyclists were included. The median age was 41 years (quartiles 26-53), 73% were male, 5.3% had severe pre-injury comorbidities, and 54% wore a helmet at the time of injury. Serious head injury occurred in 30%, 9% underwent a cranial neurosurgical procedure, and 30-day mortality was 2%. Compared to non-helmeted bicyclists, helmeted bicyclists were older (43 years, quartiles 27-54, vs. 38 years, quartiles 23-53, p = 0.05), less often crashed during night-time (21% vs. 38%, p < 0.001), less frequently had serious head injury (22% vs. 38%, OR 0.29, 95% CI 0.22-0.39), and less often underwent cranial neurosurgery (6% vs. 14%, OR 0.36, 95% CI 0.24-0.54). No statistically significant difference in 30-day mortality between the two groups was found (1.5% vs. 2.9%, OR 0.50, 95% CI 0.22-1.11).

conclusionHelmet use was associated with fewer and less severe head injuries and fewer neurosurgical procedures. This adds evidence to the protective capabilities of bicycle helmets.

Indexed as

BicyclingCraniocerebral TraumaHead Protective DevicesNeurosurgical ProceduresAdultFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedNorwayRegistriesTrauma CentersBicycleBluntHead injuryHelmetNeurosurgical Procedure

Identifiers

PMID39379615
PMCPMC11461757

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Registered trials

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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.