Meredith Lauren, Ekman Robert, Thomson Robert
Vehicle Safety, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden.
BMJ Open Sport Exerc Med. 2018 Aug 13;4(1):e000398. doi: 10.1136/bmjsem-2018-000398. eCollection 2018.
Head injuries are the leading cause of death in horse-related injury events and, even since the introduction of helmets, represent a sizeable proportion of all horse-related injuries. Falls from horseback and kicks to the head are the most frequent type of incident causing head injuries, but it is unknown whether these incidents are predictors of head injury. This study aimed to investigate head injuries and the association between incident type and head injury.
Retrospective review of 7815 horse-related injury events was conducted. Data were gathered from hospitals, local healthcare centres and public dental services in Skaraborg, Sweden. Binary logistic regression was used to analyse the association between the incident type and occurrence of head injury while controlling for risk factors.
Approximately 20% of riders sustained a head injury, mostly soft tissue injuries (56.3%) and concussions (33.4%). A fall from or with the horse was the primary cause of head injury (63.9%). Those who fell from a carriage or other height or who were injured through contact with the horse had no difference in the likelihood of head injury when compared with those that fell from or with the horse. However, those who sustained an injury without any horse contact had lower odd of head injury (OR: 0.640, p<0.00005, 95% CI 0.497 to 0.734). Additionally, the older the rider, the lower the odds of head injury (OR=0.989, p<0.00005, 95% CI 0.985 to 0.993).
Improved protection for those suffering falls from horseback as well as those who are kicked in the head should be investigated.
头部受伤是与马匹相关的伤害事件中的主要死因，即使自头盔引入以来，在所有与马匹相关的伤害中仍占相当大的比例。从马背上跌落和头部被踢是导致头部受伤最常见的事件类型，但尚不清楚这些事件是否是头部受伤的预测因素。本研究旨在调查头部受伤情况以及事件类型与头部受伤之间的关联。
对7815起与马匹相关的伤害事件进行回顾性研究。数据收集自瑞典斯卡纳堡的医院、当地医疗中心和公共牙科服务机构。在控制风险因素的同时，采用二元逻辑回归分析事件类型与头部受伤发生之间的关联。
约20%的骑手头部受伤，主要为软组织损伤（56.3%）和脑震荡（33.4%）。从马背上跌落或与马一起跌落是头部受伤的主要原因（63.9%）。与从马背上跌落或与马一起跌落的人相比，从马车或其他高处跌落或因与马接触而受伤的人头部受伤的可能性没有差异。然而，那些没有任何与马接触而受伤的人头部受伤的几率较低（比值比：0.640，p<0.00005，95%置信区间0.497至0.734）。此外，骑手年龄越大，头部受伤的几率越低（比值比=0.989，p<0.00005，95%置信区间0.985至0.993）。
应研究如何更好地保护那些从马背上跌落以及头部被踢的人。
