title: [Effect of environmental factors on the risk of death for drivers of two-wheeled motorized vehicles involved in road crashes].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the effect of environmental factors on the risk of death for drivers of two-wheeled motorized vehicles (TWMV) after a crash.
  
  
  METHODS
  We studied a case series comprising all 309,626 drivers of TWMV involved in road crashes with victims compiled by the Spanish Department of Transportation from 1993 to 2002. The dependent variable was death of the driver. Environmental factors included temporal variables (year, month, day and hour of the crash) and spatial variables (area where the accident took place and light conditions, among others). Confounding variables related to the driver (age, sex, helmet use), the vehicle, and the type of crash were also recorded. Poisson regression models were constructed to obtain crude and adjusted relative risks for each environmental condition.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the adjusted analysis, no association was found between most time-related factors and the risk of death, with the exception of an increased risk in the early hours of the morning. The risk of death was much greater for crashes on open roads (especially highways and motorways) than in urban areas, where the risk of death increased as the size of the town decreased.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  After adjustment for several confounders, the only environmental factors related to the risk of death in TWMV drivers after a crash were the area when the crash occurred, and (more weakly) the time of day when it occurred.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Medicina Preventiva y Salud Pública, Universidad de Granada, España.
authors.forename: Carolina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Donate-López
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Espigares-Rodríguez
authors.forename: José Juan
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Jiménez-Moleón
authors.forename: Juan de Dios
authors.initials: Jde D
authors.lastname: Luna del Castillo
authors.forename: Aurora
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bueno-Cavanillas
authors.forename: Pablo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lardelli-Claret
mesh_terms: D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000401:mortality*; D001334:Automobile Driving; D004777:Environment; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009049:Motorcycles; D016012:Poisson Distribution; D012306:Risk; D012307:Risk Factors; D013030:Spain; D013997:Time Factors