Abstract

Background: Road traffic accidents (RTAs) have become a growing public health and development problem. RTA is the most common cause of head injury in 15–45 years of age group. There are number of host and environmental factors which determine the occurrence of RTAs.

Objective: To study the risk factors related to RTA with head injury and to study the relationship between risk factors and severity of head injury.

Materials and Methods: A hospital-based cross-sectional study was carried out in casualty and neurosurgery ward, JNMCH, AMU, Aligarh. All patients of RTAs with head injury in the age group of 15–45 years who have registered themselves in casualty were included in the study. Purposive sampling was used for patient inclusion in the study. Study period was 1 year from August 2010 to July 2011. Data were analyzed with SPSS 20.0 and χ2-test was applied to assess the relationship of severity of head injury with risk factors.

Result: Significant deterioration in severity of RTAs was noted whenever road accident took place over inadequate roads or in poor visibility. Vehicles functioning inadequately at the time of accident also led to significant increase in proportion of moderately and severely injured patients. Excessive speed noted in one-fifth of accidents and consumption of alcohol prior to accident also led to significant increase in moderate-to-severe accidents.

Conclusion: Road conditions and poor visibility are identified environmental risk factors for RTAs. Vehicular status along with rising speed and alcohol intoxication are important risk factors.

Key words: Road traffic accident, head injury, road condition, visibility