Slipping on ice and snow—elderly women and young men are typical victims

Slipping on ice or snow during winter caused 3.5 injuries per 1000 inhabitants per year in the Umeå health district; the injury rate was highest among the elderly. Most injured were elderly women, but also many young men in the age group 20–29 years were injured. Half of all injuries were fractures;...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Accident analysis and prevention 1997-03, Vol.29 (2), p.211-215
Main Authors: Björnstig, Ulf, Björnstig, Johanna, Dahlgren, Anna
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Accidental Falls - prevention & control
Accidental Falls - statistics & numerical data
Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Child
Child, Preschool
Fall injuries
Female
Fractures, Bone - epidemiology
Fractures, Bone - prevention & control
Humans
Ice
Ice/snow
Infant
Male
Middle Aged
Protective Clothing
Slipping
Snow
Sweden - epidemiology
Wounds and Injuries - epidemiology
Wounds and Injuries - prevention & control
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Slipping on ice or snow during winter caused 3.5 injuries per 1000 inhabitants per year in the Umeå health district; the injury rate was highest among the elderly. Most injured were elderly women, but also many young men in the age group 20–29 years were injured. Half of all injuries were fractures; for women 50 years and over two-thirds were fractures, mostly of an upper extremity. The ‘cost’ of medical care of these slipping injuries was almost the same as the ‘cost’ of all traffic injuries in the area during the same time. Injury reducing measures, such as more effective snow clearing, sand and salt spreading in strategic areas, better slip preventive aids on shoes, and ‘padding’ of older women, would reduce the injuries and their consequences.
ISSN:0001-4575
1879-2057
DOI:10.1016/S0001-4575(96)00074-7