title: Prospective study of the effect of safety belts on morbidity and health care costs in motor-vehicle accidents.
abstract: To assess the impact of safety belt use on the extent of injuries sustained in motor-vehicle accidents and the incurred health care costs, 1364 patients were prospectively evaluated at four Chicago-area hospitals. Of these, 791 (58%) were wearing a safety belt whereas 573 (42%) were not. The mean injury severity score for safety belt wearers was 1.8 +/- 0.07 vs 4.51 +/- 0.31 in those not wearing a safety belt. Only 6.8% of safety belt wearers required admission vs 19.2% of those not wearing a safety belt. Restrained occupants incurred mean charges of $534 +/- $67 compared with $1583 +/- $201 in unrestrained occupants. Thus, safety belt wearers had a 60.1% reduction in severity of injury, a 64.6% decrease in hospital admissions, and a 66.3% decline in hospital charges. Our findings demonstrate the significant societal burden of nonuse of safety belts in terms of morbidity and the costs of medical care.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Emergency Medicine, School of Public Health, University of Illinois, Chicago.
authors.forename: E M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Orsay
authors.forename: T L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Turnbull
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dunne
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Barrett
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Langenberg
authors.forename: C P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Orsay
mesh_terms: D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000191:economics* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D002641:Chicago; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000191:economics*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012622:Seat Belts / Q000191:economics*; D012737:Sex Factors; D014504:Urban Health; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000191:economics / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*