میزان استفاده از کلاه ایمنی و اثربخشی آن در پیشگیری از مصدومیت در موتورسیکلت‌سواران: مرور سیستماتیک و متاآنالیز

Background and purpose: This review study and meta-analysis aimed at providing evidence on helmet use and its efficacy on death and various types of head injuries caused by motorcycle crashes in different countries. Methods & Materials: Relevant databanks such as PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Science Direct, Embase and some relevant websites were searched for suitable studies. Two authors independently performed article selection, quality assessment and data extraction. Data analysis was done in Stata Software V14 applying random effects model. Results: Overall, 107 studies -with different qualities- were entered into the current systematic review and 100 studies were entered into our meta-analysis. Total rate of helmet use in motorcycle riders and occupants were 63% (95%CI: 56-69%) and 41% (95%CI: 33-48), respectively. The studies that examined the effectiveness of helmet use in reducing head, face and neck injuries, (while controlling the confounders) showed that wearing helmet could reduce the risk of death by 45% (OR= 0.55, 95%CI: 0.41-0.68) and the risk of head and face injuries by 57% (OR=0.43, 95% CI: 0.36-0.50). But it was found that helmet may not considerably reduce the risk of neck injury. Conclusion: In spite of the efficacy of helmet use on reducing the rate of deaths and head injuries among motorcyclists after a traffic collision, its use is still low and varies in different countries. But, the findings suggest that more use of helmets can facilitate global efforts to reduce road traffic injuries.