Pregnancy is associated with more severe injuries from motor vehicle crashes

Ya-Hui Chang; Yu-Wen Chien; Chiung-Hsin Chang; Ping-Ling Chen; Tsung-Hsueh Lu; Chung-Yi Li

doi:10.1016/j.jfma.2023.12.009

Pregnancy is associated with more severe injuries from motor vehicle crashes

J Formos Med Assoc. 2023 Dec 21:S0929-6646(23)00489-8. doi: 10.1016/j.jfma.2023.12.009. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Ya-Hui Chang¹, Yu-Wen Chien², Chiung-Hsin Chang³, Ping-Ling Chen⁴, Tsung-Hsueh Lu², Chung-Yi Li⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Public Health, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan; Department of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, United States.
² Department of Public Health, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.
³ Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.
⁴ Graduate Institute of Injury Prevention and Control, College of Public Health, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
⁵ Department of Public Health, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan; Department of Public Health, College of Public Health, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan; Department of Healthcare Administration, College of Medical and Health Science, Asia University, Taichung, Taiwan. Electronic address: cyli99@mail.ncku.edu.tw.

PMID: 38129265
DOI: 10.1016/j.jfma.2023.12.009

Abstract

Objective: Whether pregnancy is associated with severe injuries from motor vehicle crashes (MVCs) remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the potential relationship between pregnancy and severity of injuries from MVCs.

Methods: We identified a total of 23,559 pregnant women victims who encountered MVCs during pregnancy as well as 94,236 age- and calendar year-at MVC matched non-pregnant women victims that are also involved in MVCs. Injury severity was assessed using the Maximum Abbreviated Injury Scale (MAIS) based on the diagnosis of medical claims after MVCs. Multinomial logistic regression models were used to estimate the odds ratio and corresponding 95 % CI of injury severity levels associated with pregnancy.

Results: Pregnant women had a significantly higher risk of both severe (adjusted odds ratio, aOR = 1.79, 95 % CI = 1.54-2.08) and mild injuries (aOR = 8.63, 95 % CI = 8.21-9.07) following MVCs as compared to non-pregnant women victims. Particularly, pregnant women who were riding scooters had an increased risk of severe injury (aOR = 4.25, 95 % CI = 3.58-5.04). In addition, pregnant women who experienced MVC but without any injury were more likely to visit a clinic than non-pregnant MVC victims.

Conclusion: Pregnant women victims, particularly those who were riding scooters involved in MVCs suffered from a higher risk of severe injury as compared to their non-pregnant counterparts. Our findings suggest that women should consider avoiding riding a scooter and must use restrictive devices during pregnancy, which would help reduce the severity of injuries sustained following an MVC.

Keywords: Injury severity; Pregnancy; Traffic accidents.