Abstract
Objective: The goal of this study is to determine if a difference in societal costs exists from traumatic brain injuries (TBI) in patients who wear helmets compared to non-wearers.
Methods: This is a retrospective cost-of-injury study of 128 patients admitted to the Montreal General Hospital (MGH) following a TBI that occurred while cycling between 2007–2011. Information was collected from Quebec Trauma Registry. The independent variables collected were socio-demographic, helmet status, clinical and neurological patient information. The dependent variables evaluated societal costs.
Results: The median costs of hospitalization were significantly higher (p = 0.037) in the no helmet group ($7246.67 vs. $4328.17). No differences in costs were found for inpatient rehabilitation (p = 0.525), outpatient rehabilitation (p = 0.192), loss of productivity (p = 0.108) or death (p = 1.000). Overall, the differences in total societal costs between the helmet and no helmet group were not significantly different (p = 0.065). However, the median total costs for patients with isolated TBI in the non-helmet group ($22 232.82) was significantly higher (p = 0.045) compared to the helmet group ($13 920.15).
Conclusion: Cyclists sustaining TBIs who did not wear helmets in this study were found to cost society nearly double that of helmeted cyclists.
Declaration of interest
The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.