Seat Belts and Neck Injuries

This article, part of a recently CO!ll> l eted research project on safety belts, presents results on neck injuries. A total of 3927 injured front seat occupants (drivers and passengers) i nvol ved in two-car crashes were considered • ..Wang them, 725 sustained a neck sprain (ICD9:847. 0), some af them may have sustained ather injuries as well. The more serious injuries to the cervical spine were more prevalent amang the unbelted occupants. Neck sprai ns were re 1 ative ly more numerous among be 1 ted occu­ pants co111>ared with unbelted ones with a relative risk estimate of 1.68. Similar results hold also for subsets of the data an different types of collisions; the relative risks range from 1.39 to 2.4 2. A loglinear model was constructed for the odds ratio (neck sprain versus na neck sprain) taking into accaunt the factors seat belt, direction af impact, authorized speed limit and vehicle weight. The resulting relative risk estimate ( bel ted VS unbel ted) i s now 1, 58. The resul ts rai se questi ons about seat belts and protection against neck sprains.