@article{ref1,
title="Does Obesity Increase the Risk of Injury or Mortality in Motor Vehicle Crashes? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis",
journal="Asia-Pacific journal of public health",
year="2011",
author="Desapriya, Ediriweera B. R. and Giulia, Scime and Subzwari, Sayed and Peiris, Dinithi C. and Turcotte, Kate and Pike, Ian and Sasges, Deborah and Hewapathirane, D. Sesath",
volume="ePub",
number="ePub",
pages="ePub-ePub",
abstract="OBJECTIVES: . The objective of this review was to assess the risk of obesity in injuries and fatalities resulting from motor vehicle crash (MVC), as compared with individuals with a normal-range body mass index. METHODS: . A systematic review of the literature was conducted yielding 824 potential studies. Nine of these studies met our inclusion criteria. Meta-analyses examining obesity as a risk factor for various injury types and risk of fatality were conducted using data from these studies. RESULTS: . Obesity was associated with higher fatality risk (odds ratio [OR] = 1.89, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.51-2.37, P = .0001; pooled estimate from 6 studies), and increased risk of lower extremity fractures (OR = 1.39, 95% CI = 1.18-1.65, P = .0001; pooled estimate from 2 studies). No significant differences were observed when considering abdominal injuries or pelvic fractures. Interestingly, for head injuries obesity was a protective factor (OR = 0.67, 95% CI = 0.46-0.97, P = .0001; pooled data from 3 studies). CONCLUSIONS: . Evidence strongly supports the association of obesity with higher fatality and fractures of the lower extremities in MVCs. Contrary to our hypothesis, 3 studies showed that obesity was a protective factor in reducing head injuries. Furthermore, the review shows that obesity was not a risk factor of MVC-related pelvic fractures and abdominal injuries.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="1010-5395",
doi="10.1177/1010539511430720",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1010539511430720"
}