Geriatric Age is an Independent Risk Factor for Worse Clinical Outcomes After Motorcycle Collision

Area of Science:

• Trauma Surgery
• Geriatric Medicine
• Public Health

Background:

• The incidence of motorcycle use among older adults is rising.
• Geriatric patients experience poorer outcomes following motorcycle injuries, but the contributing factors remain unclear.
• This study investigates whether geriatric age, comorbidities, or injury patterns are primary drivers of these disparities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare outcomes between injured geriatric (≥65 years) and nongeriatric motorcyclists.
• To determine if geriatric age independently predicts mortality and adverse clinical outcomes after motorcycle collisions.
• To identify specific risk factors associated with motorcycle injuries in the elderly population.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the 2017-2022 Trauma Quality Improvement Program database for motorcycle collision data.
• Compared characteristics and outcomes of geriatric and nongeriatric motorcyclists pre- and post-propensity score matching.
• Conducted multivariate analysis to assess the association between age, comorbidities, injury patterns, and mortality.

Main Results:

• Identified 10,268 geriatric and 127,818 nongeriatric patients.
• Post-matching, geriatric patients exhibited higher in-hospital mortality (7% vs. 4%) and ICU admission rates (43% vs. 37%).
• Geriatric motorcyclists had lower rates of discharge to home (54% vs. 66%) and geriatric age was an independent predictor of mortality (HR 1.621).

Conclusions:

• Geriatric age is an independent predictor of mortality and poor outcomes in injured motorcyclists, even when controlling for comorbidities and injury severity.
• Findings emphasize the necessity for age-specific trauma care protocols and targeted prevention programs for the aging motorcyclist demographic.
• Highlights the increased vulnerability of older adults to severe consequences from motorcycle-related trauma.