Alcohol as a risk factor for downhill skiing trauma.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the role of alcohol in downhill skiing injuries.


METHODS
Comparison of alcohol consumption habits and blood alcohol concentrations of injured skiers to those of randomly selected controls.


METHODS
121 injured skiers and 701 control subjects were interviewed and gave breath samples for the determination of blood alcohol concentration.


RESULTS
Neither mean blood alcohol concentration nor the number of subjects with an intoxicating level of alcohol in blood (> 0.5 g/L; 2.9% of control subjects and 3.3% of the injured patients) differed significantly between the groups. Also, the severity of the injury and the blood alcohol concentration seemed to be independent of each other; all of the most severe traumas occurred in subjects with no detectable alcohol in blood.


CONCLUSIONS
Alcohol does not seem to be a major etiological factor in skiing-related injuries.
Salminen
S
S
Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Oulu University Central Hospital, Finland.
Pohjola
J
J
Saarelainen
P
P
Sakki
A
A
Roine
R
R
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000097:blood; D001265:Athletic Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D001944:Breath Tests; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D015601:Injury Severity Score; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D012865:Skiing / Q000293:injuries*