scholarly journals P.021 Seizures among drivers in Newfoundland and Labrador

Author(s):  
KS Aminian ◽  
A Ogunyemi ◽  
J Coombs

Background: Regulation of drivers licences aims to strike a balance between autonomy and public safety. In Newfoundland and Labrador, an individual experiencing seizures must have a 6-month seizure-free interval before a driving licence is reinstated, although exceptions apply. There is a paucity of data surrounding driving safety in people with epilepsy. Methods: The Department of Motor Vehicles and Registration extracted data from the charts of drivers experiencing seizures for the period between 2010-2014, inclusive. Two groups were examined: drivers aged 16-24 (n=104) and 75+ (n=115). Given that mandatory reporting is required in Newfoundland and Labrador, this theoretically represents a population-based study. Results: Overall, 5.1% of the population experienced a motor vehicle collision, and collisions were more frequent among younger drivers. Significantly more people in the 75+ category had a medical history that could have contributed to seizures. Only 37.6% of the overall sample had their first seizure reported. This was not different between age groups or seizure types (generalized vs. focal). Though the age groups differed with respect to seizure type, this did not affect driving safety, as measured by motor vehicle collisions and driving disobedience. Conclusions: We found a high rate of driving disobedience despite the requirement for mandatory reporting and seizure type did not affect driving safety.

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 27
Author(s):  
Simon Demers

Police-reported data from Transport Canada’s National Collision Database (NCDB) are analyzed with a view to identify and quantify various factors that can impact the survivability of cyclists involved in a motor vehicle collision. A Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO) regression and a multiple imputation (MI) process address the variable selection and missing data problems, respectively. The resulting probabilistic model suggests that collision sur-vivability depends largely on the cyclist’s age and helmet usage. Survivability improves with age up to age 21, peaks for cyclists aged 21 to 34, and falls after age 35. Controlling for age and other factors, a bicycle helmet reduces the risk that a cyclist fatality will occur by approximately 34% (OR: 0.66, 95% CI: 0.56-0.78). Survivability in general, and the apparent safety benefits of bicycle helmets in particular, do not appear to depend on the sex of the cyclist once the type of collision and other factors are controlled for. Head-on and rear-end collisions tend to be more deadly. Certain environmental and situational variables, like strong winds and traffic control devices, also appear to impact survivability. There might be opportunities to sensitize cyclists of various age groups about the risks they are exposed to while cycling, and prevent or better protect cyclists from head-on and rear-end collisions.


Neurosurgery ◽  
1984 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 318-324 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evan Lloyd Nelson ◽  
Joseph L. Melton ◽  
John F. Annegers ◽  
Edward R. Laws ◽  
Kenneth P. Offord

Abstract Between 1935 and 1974, 3598 episodes of head trauma among Olmsted County, Minnesota, residents resulted in 1097 skull fractures. Of these, 53% were simple, 16% were depressed, 12% were compound, and 19% were basilar. The age- and sex-adjusted incidence of skull fractures was 44.3 per 100,000 person-years overall, was somewhat greater in the urban than in the rural areas of Olmsted County, and was relatively stable for the final 30 years of the study. Age-specific incidence rates were highest for the very young, and simple linear fractures were the predominant type of skull fracture in this age group and among the elderly. The male:female ratio of incidence rates varied from 2.1:1 to 4.5:1 depending on fracture type. Motor vehicle accidents accounted for 38% of the skull fractures and were a particularly important cause among young males. Falls accounted for 37% of the skull fractures and were the major cause of fractures in the elderly and pediatric age groups. The results of this population-based study may be helpful in formulating recommendations for the evaluation and management of head-injured patients.


Author(s):  
Fritz H. Schröder

Screening for a disease must be clearly defined and differentiated from early detection. ‘Screening’ refers to the application of tests to the whole population or to defined segments such as males within certain defined high risk age groups. If applied in such a fashion ‘screening’ for prostate cancer may also be described epidemiologically as ‘secondary prevention’. While high-quality randomized studies show that screening reduces prostate cancer mortality by 21–44%, there is wide agreement that the introduction of population-based screening is at present premature because harms, mainly the high rate of overdiagnosis seen currently outweighs the benefits. This chapter attempts to put current knowledge into perspective with a set of recognized prerequirements for the application of screening, established by Wilson and Jungner in 1968.


SLEEP ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 43 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. A154-A155
Author(s):  
E Rosenberg ◽  
M L Perlis ◽  
S Parthasarathy ◽  
G Jean-Louis ◽  
S Chakravorty ◽  
...  

Abstract Introduction In Israel, those with Arabic as compared to Jewish ethnicity, exhibit poorer health and motor vehicle safety behaviors. Their ethnic differences in sleep duration and quality may modulate their vulnerabilities to these behaviors. Methods 7,230 Israeli individuals (N=5,880 Jewish and N=1350 Arabic) responded to the 2017 Israeli Bureau of Statistics population-based survey of households. Variables were self-reported. Outcomes included sleepiness, sleep medications, functional impairment, drowsy driving, overall health, 1-year health change, and obesity. Predictors included categorical sleep duration (<=5, 6, 7, 8 [reference], or >=9 hours) and sleep disturbance in the past month (none [reference], mild [1/week], moderate [2-3/week], or severe [>3/week]). Covariates included age, sex, and financial status. Ethnicity (Jewish/Arabic) was treated as a predictor of sleep and behavioral outcomes. Results When compared to normal (8-hour) sleepers, Jewish as compared to Arabic individuals were more likely to to sleep <=5h (RRR=3.99, p<0.0005), 6h (RRR=4.65, p<0.0005), and 7h (RRR=3.34, p<0.0005), and were more likely to report severe sleep difficulties (RRR=1.49, p<0.0005) and sleepiness (oOR=1.52, p< 0.0005). Yet, they were less likely to report functional impairment (oOR=0.65, p<0.0005), drowsy driving (OR=0.58, p<0.0005), worse health (oOR=0.51, p<0005), worsening health (oOR=0.70, p<0.0005), or obesity (OR=0.64, p<0.0005). Significant ethnicity by sleep duration interactions (p<0.05) characterized sleepiness, sleep medications, functional impairment, health, and health change. Moreover, significant ethnicity by sleep disturbance interactions (p<0.05) characterized the same outcomes, in addition to drowsy driving. Overall, the impact of sleep duration and sleep difficulties was generally greater among Arabs for all variables. Conclusion Despite Jewish individuals endorsing relatively shorter sleep and more severe sleep difficulties, Arabs seem to be more vulnerable to the health and functional outcomes. This finding may explain some of the discrepancies in the health and safety outcomes between these ethnic groups. Support Dr. Grandner is supported by R01MD011600


1994 ◽  
Vol 79 (3_suppl) ◽  
pp. 1680-1682 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johannes Kingma

Causes of pedestrian accidents ( N = 534) were investigated for patients treated for injuries at the emergency unit of a hospital. Accidents in collisions with motor vehicles were the main cause (87.8%). Young children (0–9 years old) and the elderly (above 60 years of age) are the most vulnerable in terms of mortality rates observed in these age groups. Preponderance of males in pedestrian accidents was observed in the accident categories of collisions with motor vehicle and bicycle, whereas a slight preponderance of females was found in collisions with other traffic. The predominant age groups were located in the range from 0 through 19 years.


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