At various ages, the epidemiologic patterns of all-terrain vehicle (ATV)-related emergency department (ED) visits by male and female persons may differ. It had never been studied before. For a study, researchers sought to determine how gender and age differences interacted with ATV-related emergency department visits.

Data for ATV-related ED visits were retrieved from the 2019 National Electronic Injury Surveillance System, including gender, age, race, collision site, injured body part, and if alcohol was involved. There were descriptive statistics and logistic regression analyses performed. They modeled sex separately in multivariable models while controlling for the same independent variables. 

ATV-related ED visits were an estimated 95,995 (unweighted n=1,999). The connection between ATV-related ED visits vs. other ED injuries had significant age-by-sex interaction, showing that the influence of age on ATV-related ED visits differed by sex and vice versa. Males were 1.7 times as likely than females to attend the emergency room because of an ATV. In the stratified analysis for females, the probabilities were significantly higher for girls under the age of 18 (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 2.33; 95% CI 1.61-3.69) and women between the ages of 18 and 35 (AOR 4.76; 95% CI 3.48-6.51) than for women above the age of 35. Males aged 18-35 had significantly higher chances (AOR 2.21; 95% CI 1.72-2.85) than men over 35.

As newer ATVs became more powerful and quicker, it was necessary to identify who is most at risk for ATV-related ED visits in order to design rules and safety measures.

Reference: jem-journal.com/article/S0736-4679(22)00162-7/fulltext

Author