Introduction Motor vehicle (MV) collisions are a leading cause of trauma for pregnant individuals in the US that often result in adverse maternal and fetal outcomes.1 MV collisions account for 82% of injury-induced fetal deaths and 55% to 78% of trauma-related hospital admissions among pregnant individuals.1,2 Seat belts are recommended for all occupants, although it remains unclear whether seat belt use differs between pregnant occupants and occupants from other demographic subgroups.3 Using nationally representative survey responses, we assessed patterns of seat belt use among pregnant, nonpregnant, and male occupants. Methods This cross-sectional study analyzed responses from the Center of Disease Control and Prevention Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). Use of BRFSS is exempt from institutional review board approval because it is deidentified and publicly available. Data from 2006, 2008, 2010-2018, and 2020 across US states, territories, and the District of Columbia were included to determine prevalence and trends of seat belt use, which was defined as “always wearing a seat belt” in survey responses that are consistent with field observations.4 Analysis was compliant with STROBE reporting guidelines. Our exclusion criteria are detailed in the eFigure in Supplement 1. Survey-weighted responses were aggregated by year, age group, sex, and pregnancy status and analyzed using beta regression, with the nonpregnant female group treated as the reference (eMethods in Supplement 1). Results A total of 1 389 538 respondents were identified, consisting of 741 032 nonpregnant females (53.3%), 30 193 pregnant females (2.2%), and 618 313 males (44.5%) with unweighted mean (SD) ages 33.3 (7.4), 29.5 (5.8), and 32.3 (7.7) years, respectively. Weighted estimates of seat belt use by year, age, sex, and pregnancy status are shown in the Figure. We found significantly higher seat belt use among respondents aged 30 to 44 years vs those aged 18 to 29 years (odds ratio [OR], 1.62; 95% CI, 1.52-1.72) ...
Language: en
LA - en SN - 2574-3805 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.34272 ID - ref1 ER -