title: Medical conditions, medication use, and their relationship with subsequent motor vehicle injuries: examination of the Canadian National Population Health Survey.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the effects of various medical conditions and medications on subsequent motor vehicle injuries (MVIs).
  
  
  METHODS
  The National Population Health Survey, a large, nationally representative, longitudinal study of Canadians, included self-reported medical conditions of asthma, arthritis/rheumatism, back problems excluding arthritis, high blood pressure, migraine headaches, diabetes, heart disease and distress, and medication use during the past month for asthma, high blood pressure, diabetes, heart, codeine/pethidine (Demerol)/morphine, other pain relievers, antidepressants, tranquilizers, and sleeping medication. Path analyses were used to examine the odds of subsequent MVI for different medical conditions and medication use reported prior to the MVI (in the previous wave of the survey) while controlling for age and sex.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Increased odds of subsequent MVIs were found for asthma (odds ratio [OR]: 1.864, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.281, 2.713), arthritis/rheumatism (OR: 1.659, 95% CI: 1.163, 2.365), back problems (OR: 2.169, 95% CI: 1.624, 2.895), and migraines (OR: 1.631, 95% CI: 1.125, 2.364) but not for high blood pressure (OR: 1.435, 95% CI: 0.944, 2.181), diabetes (OR: 1.479, 95% CI: 0.743, 2.944), heart disease (OR: 2.627, 95% CI: 0.941, 7.334) or distress (OR: 1.153, 95% CI: 0.840, 1.581). Except for migraine with codeine/pethidine/morphine, this effect persisted regardless of whether medication was used to treat the condition. Respondents who reported using certain medications, namely, codeine/pethidine/morphine (OR: 2.215, 95% CI: 1.274, 3.850), other pain medication (OR: 1.630, 95% CI: 1.242, 2.139), antidepressants (OR: 2.664. 95% CI: 1.602, 4.429), and sleeping medication (OR: 2.059, 95% CI: 1.161, 3.651), had increased odds of subsequent MVI, independent of related medical condition, whereas tranquillizers showed no increased odds of subsequent MVIs.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study suggests that the relationship between medical conditions, medications, and MVIs is complex but consistent with other studies.
authors.affiliation: Population and Community Health Unit, Department of Family Medicine, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. evingili@uwo.ca
authors.forename: Evelyn
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Vingilis
authors.forename: Piotr
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Wilk
mesh_terms: D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000188:drug therapy; D001249:Asthma / Q000188:drug therapy; D001416:Back Pain / Q000188:drug therapy; D002170:Canada / Q000453:epidemiology; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000188:drug therapy; D004358:Drug Therapy; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006306:Health Surveys; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000188:drug therapy; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008881:Migraine Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000188:drug therapy; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology*; D055815:Young Adult