Citation

Son SH, Oh SH, Kang SH, Kim DK, Seo KM, Lee SU, Lee SY. Traffic Injury Prev. 2018; 19(4): 399-403.

Affiliation

Department of Rehabilitation Medicine , Seoul National University Seoul Metropolitan Government Boramae Medical Center , Seoul , South Korea.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/15389588.2017.1418507

PMID

29265886

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Although identification of factors that influence helmet use during bicycle riding is necessary for the selection of groups that require safe cycling education, limited baseline data are available. The aim of the present study was to analyze the rate of helmet use and the demographic factors that were independently associated with helmet use among Korean bicycle riders.

METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, we used public data from the Sixth Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey conducted in 2013 and 2014. Helmet users were defined as subjects who always, usually, or frequently wore helmets when cycling. Independent factors associated with helmet use were determined using odds ratios (OR) adjusted for five demographic factors via multivariate logistic regression analysis.

RESULTS: In the total population, 4,103 individuals were bicycle riders; among these, 782 individuals (19.1%) wore helmets. A total of 21.1% of male riders used helmets, compared to 15.5% of female riders (P < 0.001). The adjusted logistic regression model revealed that female sex (OR, 0.665; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.554-0.797), teenage status (OR, 0.475, 95% CI, 0.333-0.678), and low household income (OR 0.657, 95% CI 0.513-0.841) were significantly associated with non-use of helmets.

CONCLUSIONS: Female sex, teenage status, and low household income were independent factors associated with the non-use of helmets. We identified factors associated with helmet use during bicycle riding through analysis of baseline data on helmet usage.

Language: en

Keywords

Bicycling; Cross-sectional Studies; Head-protective Devices