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Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study
09:36

Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study

Published on: February 2, 2017

Overweight children: are they at increased risk for severe injury in motor vehicle collisions?

Pavan P Zaveri1, Danielle M Morris, Robert J Freishtat

  • 1Division of Emergency Medicine, Children's National Medical Center, USA. pzaveri@cnmc.org

Accident; Analysis and Prevention
|August 12, 2009
PubMed

Insights

This study found no significant link between childhood obesity and the severity or type of injuries sustained in car crashes. Overweight children were not more likely to experience severe injuries or misuse restraints.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Traumatology
  • Public Health
  • Epidemiology

Background:

  • Childhood obesity is a significant public health issue in the U.S.
  • The impact of obesity on pediatric traumatic injuries is not well understood.
  • Existing research lacks comprehensive data on overweight children involved in motor vehicle collisions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the relationship between overweight status and injury severity in children involved in motor vehicle collisions.
  • To determine if overweight children experience different injury distributions.
  • To assess the association between overweight status and the appropriateness of restraint use.

Main Methods:

  • Secondary analysis of the Child Injury Prevention and Control (CIREN) database.
  • Inclusion criteria: subjects aged 2-17 years involved in motor vehicle collisions.
  • Overweight defined as Body Mass Index (BMI) percentile >85% for age; significant injury defined by Injury Severity Score (ISS) >15 or Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) >1.

Main Results:

  • 35.5% of the 335 subjects were overweight.
  • No significant association found between overweight status and overall significant injury (Odds Ratio [OR] 1.2, 95% Confidence Interval [CI] 0.8-1.9).
  • No significant associations observed for injury distribution (AIS) or restraint use (OR 1.3, 95% CI 0.8-2.1).

Conclusions:

  • The study found no statistically significant relationship between being overweight and pediatric injury severity, injury distribution, or restraint use in motor vehicle collisions.
  • Limitations include a small sample size and a high proportion of unrestrained subjects.
  • Further research with larger datasets is warranted to confirm these findings.
Abstract

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