TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2017//
TI  - Bicycle and helmet use of adolescents in Markham, Canada
JO  - International journal of adolescent medicine and health
A1  - Borean, Michael
A1  - Ho, Stephanie
A1  - Hollenberg, Drew
A1  - Anpalagan, Tharani
A1  - Rzepka, Anna
A1  - Viehweger, Jaclyn
A1  - Ho, Christopher
A1  - Rigby, Isaac
A1  - Chow, Ronald
SP  - ePub
EP  - ePub
VL  - 31
IS  - 2
N2  - Bicycle crashes are the second most common sports- or recreation-associated cause of serious injury. While the literature suggests that wearing protective helmets can significantly decrease risks associated with bicycle-related injuries, overall helmet use remains sub-optimal. A recent study by Chow et al. suggested that helmet-wearing rates in adolescent boys are negatively correlated with age. The aim of this study was to determine if similar trends are observed in a co-educational high school setting. A questionnaire was circulated at Unionville High School, a co-ed public high school in Markham, Canada. Of the 144 participants, 27 of them were in Grade 9 or 10, and 117 of them were in Grade 11 or 12. While there was no statistical difference between helmet-wearing rates in Grade 9-10 and Grade 11-12 students, overall usage rates were low (41% and 38%, respectively, for recreational cyclists). This trend is interesting, considering that nearly 90% of all students were aware that wearing a helmet while cycling is required under Ontario law. Further studies should be conducted among the young adult population to determine whether the alarming trends discovered by this study and Chow et al. continue.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0334-0139
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/ijamh-2017-0007
ID  - ref1
ER  -