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

The number of older people riding motorcycles is increasing. While geriatric patients suffer worse outcomes after motorcycle injury, it is not known whether geriatric age, age-associated comorbidities, or injury pattern drive this difference. We aimed to compare outcomes between injured geriatric (≥65 y) and nongeriatric motorcyclists and hypothesized that geriatric patients have higher mortality and worse clinical outcomes even after adjustment.

We queried the 2017 to 2022 Trauma Quality Improvement Program database for patients injured in a motorcycle collision. We then compared patient characteristics and clinical outcomes between geriatric and nongeriatric patients before and after propensity score matching. A multivariate analysis was conducted to determine the relative strength of association between age, comorbidities, injury pattern, and mortality.

A total of 10,268 geriatric and 127,818 nongeriatric patients were identified. After propensity score matching, 10,268 patients remained in each group with balanced baseline characteristics. Geriatric patients had higher in-hospital mortality (7% versus 4%, P < 0.0001), higher rates of intensive care unit admission (43% versus 37%, P < 0.0001), and lower rates of discharge to home (54% versus 66%, P < 0.0001). Multivariate analysis confirmed geriatric age as an independent predictor of mortality (hazard ratio 1.621, P < 0.001).

Geriatric age was independently associated with mortality and poor outcomes in injured motorcyclists when accounting for comorbidities and injury severity. These findings underscore the need for age-specific stratification and inform trauma prevention programs about the inherent risk to this growing geriatric population.