The prevalence of helmet use in motorcyclists around the world: a systematic review and meta-analysis of 5,006,476 participants

Abstract

Road traffic injuries present a significant public health burden, especially in developing countries. This systematic review and meta-analysis synthesized global evidence on motorcycle helmet use prevalence by including 299 records across 249 articles involving 5,006,476 participants from 1982 to 2022. The findings revealed a declining trend in helmet use prevalence over the past four decades, with an overall prevalence of 48.71%. The meta-regression analysis did not find any statistically significant change in the overall prevalence. Subgroup analysis showed higher helmet use prevalence in observation/survey records (54.29%) compared to crashed patient records (44.84%). Riders/Motorcyclists demonstrated a higher likelihood of wearing helmets than passengers in both observation/survey records (62.61 vs. 28.23%) and crashed patient records (47.76 vs. 26.61%). Countries with mandatory helmet use laws had higher helmet usage prevalence compared to those without (52.26 vs. 37.21%). The African continent had the lowest helmet use rates, while Latin America and the Caribbean regions had higher rates. This study provides a comprehensive overview of global helmet use prevalence, emphasizing disparities between high and low-income countries, variations in law enforcement, and trends over four decades. Targeted interventions are necessary to improve helmet-wearing habits, especially among passengers and regions with low usage rates. Effective legislation and awareness campaigns are crucial for promoting helmet use and reducing road traffic injuries burden.

Keywords:

• Motorcycles
• head injuries
• mortality
• head protective devices
• systematic review

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The authors confirm that the data supporting the findings of this study are available within its Supplementary Materials.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Sina Trauma and Surgery Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences under Grant [number 98-01-38-41640].