The risk of road traffic crashes for occupational drivers: A responsibility study with comparison to the general population.

BACKGROUND: Road accidents are the leading type of work-related fatalities, but the impact of work-related travel on overall traffic safety has been scarcely studied. OBJECTIVE: The main objective of the present study was to assess drivers' relative road accident risk between work-related and personal journeys. METHODS: A responsible/non-responsible case-control study was performed on a sample of 7,051 road accidents in France from the VOIESUR project. Logistic regression determined odds-ratios according to work-related versus personal travel, and identified risk factors for responsibility, specific to each of the two sub-groups. RESULTS: Drivers traveling on duty or commuting home were significantly less often responsible for accidents than drivers on personal journeys: OR = 0.75 [0.63; 0.89] and 0.65 [0.53; 0.80] respectively. Responsibility was significantly more frequent in commuting to versus from work: OR = 1.38 [1.06; 1.78]. Among on-duty drivers, professional passenger-transport drivers had the lowest risk of responsibility (OR = 0.25 [0.11; 0.58]), while those on temporary or work/study contracts and professional light goods vehicle drivers had the highest risk (OR = 11.64 [2.15; 62.94] and OR = 29.83 [5.19; 171.38] respectively). When driving under the influence of alcohol, risk of responsibility was higher in commuting home than in personal journeys. CONCLUSION: On-duty drivers showed lower risk of responsibility for an accident than other drivers. However, on-duty drivers on temporary or work/study contracts, who are usually not subject to specific regulations, showed higher risk, and should be the subject of particular attention regarding occupational risk prevention.

Artificial Intelligence in Emergency Medicine: Viewpoint of Current Applications and Foreseeable Opportunities and Challenges.

Emergency medicine and its services have reached a breaking point during the COVID-19 pandemic. This pandemic has highlighted the failures of a system that needs to be reconsidered, and novel approaches need to be considered. Artificial intelligence (AI) has matured to the point where it is poised to fundamentally transform health care, and applications within the emergency field are particularly promising. In this viewpoint, we first attempt to depict the landscape of AI-based applications currently in use in the daily emergency field. We review the existing AI systems; their algorithms; and their derivation, validation, and impact studies. We also propose future directions and perspectives. Second, we examine the ethics and risk specificities of the use of AI in the emergency field.

Prescribed anti-glaucoma medication consumption and road traffic crash.

BACKGROUND: Glaucoma is one of the leading causes of visual impairment worldwide. Influence of visual defects associated with this condition, as well as potential side effects of anti-glaucoma medications on driving may be a relevant traffic safety concern. This study therefore aimed to investigate whether and/or to what extent prescribed anti-glaucoma medicine consumption is associated with increased likelihood of crash risk, and traffic crash responsibility among drivers involved in road traffic crashes. METHODS: Data from three French national databases were extracted and matched as part of the CESIR (a combination of studies on health and road safety) project. The sample included 201 497 drivers involved in an injurious road crash in France from July 1, 2005 to December 31, 2015, and an age- and sex-matched control group (113 357 drivers) that was randomly drawn from the general population. Exposure to anti-glaucoma medications were compared between responsible and non-responsible drivers involved in a crash and between drivers involved in a crash and people from the control group. RESULTS: The proportion of drivers with prescribed anti-glaucoma medicine markedly increased with age. One type (OR = 0.79, 95% CI: 0.72-0.86) and two or more types (OR = 0.82, 95% CI: 0.68-0.98) anti-glaucoma medicine prescriptions were less frequent in crash-involved drivers than in controls. One type (OR = 0.99, 95% CI: 0.88-1.12) and two or more types (OR = 1.04, 95% CI: 0.82-1.33) anti-glaucoma medicine prescriptions were not associated with crash responsibility. CONCLUSION: Our findings are reassuring as regard to existing guidelines for safe driving for individuals using anti-glaucoma medications. Our results also suggest that driving behavior adaptation is effective mitigating potential traffic crash risks for people diagnosed with glaucoma.

Implementation of a model of awareness-raising for taxi motorcyclists in Benin in relation to helmet use: a quasi-experimental study.

BACKGROUND: This study aims to test the effectiveness of an awareness-raising model designed based on the theory of planned behaviour regarding helmet use for motorcycle taxi drivers. METHODS: This quasi-experimental study took place in the cities of Parakou (intervention group) and Porto Novo (control group). Over a three-month period, a package of awareness-raising activities, based on the theory of planned behaviour, have been implemented in the intervention area. Data relate to knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding helmet use was collected prospectively before the intervention, at the end, and 6 months later. Stata 15 was used for data analysis. Chi-square or Fisher, Student's or Kruskal-Wallis tests was carried out. The difference-in-difference method was used to determine the specific effect of the awareness activities. RESULTS: After the intervention, there was an improvement in the total score in both groups compared to baseline. The total score increased by 0.2 (0.06-0.3) in the experimental group when the number of sessions attended increased by one (p = 0.005). The difference-in-difference estimator measured among subjects who attended at least one awareness session, controlling for socio-demographic variables, showed a significantly higher difference in the total score of subjects in the experimental group compared to those in the control group both at the end of the interactive sessions and 6 months later. CONCLUSION: This model improves the helmet-wearing behaviour of motorbike taxi drivers in the experimental area. It could be adapted and applied to other socio-professional groups and other types of users.

Mental and physical health among the French population before and during the first and second COVID-19 lockdowns: Latent class trajectory analyses using longitudinal data.

BACKGROUND: The French government issued national COVID-19-related confinement and stay-at-home orders depending on different epidemic levels in a bid to stem the coronavirus pandemic and its resurgence. The long-term impact of lockdown measures on the general population may vary. We aimed to identify and characterize self-reported mental and physical health trajectories in the French population from pre-lockdown to the first and second COVID-19 lockdowns and to identify factors associated with health status variation patterns. METHODS: We did a secondary analysis of the MAVIE cohort in France. Volunteers of this national cohort were recruited between November 2014 and December 2019, and information was collected at recruitment (pre-lockdown), April-May 2020 (the first lockdown), and October-December 2020 (the second lockdown). Latent class mixed models were built to identify distinct anxiety (as measured by GAD-7) and depressive (as measured by PHQ-9) symptoms, and self-perceived mental and physical health trajectories. Factors associated with status variation were identified by logistic or multinomial regression. RESULTS: A total of 613 participants with data in all three data collection waves were included. Respondents spent almost half as much time on traditional media, websites and social media during the second lockdown as during the first. Mean anxiety scores were 1.96, 2.37 and 2.82 at pre-lockdown, and the first and second lockdowns, respectively. Mean depressive scores were 3.12, 3.36 and 3.95, respectively. Latent class mixed models fitted two and three distinct trajectory classes respectively for anxiety symptoms ('no pre-pandemic anxiety, slightly increase', 58.9%; 'consistently fair', 41.1%) and depressive symptoms ('consistently very low', 34.6%; 'consistently low', 56.1%; 'increasing and clinically significant at the second lockdown', 9.3%), and four classes for self-perceived mental and physical health. Females were more likely to belong to trajectories of the most vulnerable one as regard to the symptoms of anxiety and depression, and self-perceived mental and physical health. The younger participants were also more vulnerable to anxiety symptoms and those with a clinical diagnosis or a positive COVID-19 test for the participant or relatives were more likely to belong to vulnerable trajectories for depressive symptoms and self-perceived mental health. CONCLUSION: A continuing increase in the mean scores of anxiety and depression symptoms was observed throughout the two lockdown periods in France. Further analyses revealed distinct patterns with a small fraction of volunteers experiencing worsening mental and physical health symptoms. This vulnerable small part of the population requires targeted support.

Post-injury benzodiazepine and opioid use among older adults involved in road traffic crashes: A Swedish register-based longitudinal study.

AIM: Psychotropic drugs like opioids and benzodiazepines are prescribed for traumas resulting from road traffic crashes and the risk of developing an addiction deserves consideration. This study aims to shed light on how the consumption of those drugs evolves over time among older road traffic injury (RTI) victims. METHODS: We conducted a nationwide Swedish register-based longitudinal study to identify trajectories of post-RTI psychotropic drug use. All individuals aged 50 years and older who had a hospital visit for an RTI from 2007 to 2015 were followed up during a 2-year period; those who used the drugs prior to the RTI were excluded. Trajectories were identified by performing latent class trajectory analysis on drug dispensation data for opioids and benzodiazepines separately (66 034 and 66 859 adults, respectively, in total). RESULTS: Three trajectories were identified for opioids and four for benzodiazepines. The largest group in both instances included people with no-use/minimal use throughout the follow-up (81.3% and 92.8%). "Sporadic users" were more frequent among users of opioids (16.7%) than benzodiazepines (4.3%), whereas "chronic users" were found in similar proportions (2.0% and 1.8%). "Delayed chronic use" characterized the fourth group of benzodiazepine users (1.0%). CONCLUSION: Several trajectories of psychotropic drug use were identified after RTI, from limited to chronic. Although chronic use was uncommon, a better understanding of the factors likely to increase that risk is warranted given the seriousness of the problem.

Health conditions and the risk of home injury in French adults: results from a prospective study of the MAVIE cohort.

BACKGROUND: Home injury (HI) is a significant cause of mortality and morbidity in adults of all ages. Health conditions significantly impact HI among old adults, but little is known for other adults. STUDY DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. OBJECTIVE: We assessed the associations between health-related factors and HI's risk in a French study, the MAVIE (Mutualistes pour la recherche contre les Accidents de la VIE courante) cohort. METHODS: Poisson mixed models were fitted using health-related data information (diseases, treatments and disabilities) at baseline and the number of injuries prospectively recorded during the follow-up, adjusting for significant sociodemographics and exposure to a range of home activities. Attributable fractions were estimated based on risk ratio (RR) estimations measured in the fully adjusted models. RESULTS: A total of 6146 dwelling adults aged 15 or older were followed up for 5.1 years on average. Vertigo or dizziness (RR=2.36, 95% CI 1.06 to 5.01) and sciatica or back pain (RR=1.49, 95% CI 1.08 to 2.05) were independently associated with an increased risk of HI. These two groups of conditions showed the most significant associations among people aged 15-49, whereas musculoskeletal diseases other than rachialgias and arthropathies were the most significant health-related risk factor in people aged 50 and older. Sciatica or back pain represented the highest burden of HIs in overall adults (8%) and among people aged 15-49 (12%). CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that adults with musculoskeletal disorders and vertigo or dizziness symptoms have a higher risk of HI, regardless of age.

Surveillance of COVID-19 using a keyword search for symptoms in reports from emergency medical communication centers in Gironde, France: a 15 year retrospective cross-sectional study.

During periods such as the COVID-19 crisis, there is a need for responsive public health surveillance indicators related to the epidemic. To determine the performance of keyword-search algorithm in call reports to emergency medical communication centers (EMCC) to describe trends in symptoms during the COVID-19 crisis. We retrospectively retrieved all free text call reports from the EMCC of the Gironde department (SAMU 33), France, between 2005 and 2020 and classified them with a simple keyword-based algorithm to identify symptoms relevant to COVID-19. A validation was performed using a sample of manually coded call reports. The six selected symptoms were fever, cough, muscle soreness, dyspnea, ageusia and anosmia. We retrieved 38,08,243 call reports from January 2005 to October 2020. A total of 8539 reports were manually coded for validation and Cohen's kappa statistics ranged from 75 (keyword anosmia) to 59% (keyword dyspnea). There was an unprecedented peak in the number of daily calls mentioning fever, cough, muscle soreness, anosmia, ageusia, and dyspnea during the COVID-19 epidemic, compared to the past 15 years. Calls mentioning cough, fever and muscle soreness began to increase from February 21, 2020. The number of daily calls reporting cough reached 208 on March 3, 2020, a level higher than any in the previous 15 years, and peaked on March 15, 2020, 2 days before lockdown. Calls referring to dyspnea, anosmia and ageusia peaked 12 days later and were concomitant with the daily number of emergency room admissions. Trends in symptoms cited in calls to EMCC during the COVID-19 crisis provide insights into the natural history of COVID-19. The content of calls to EMCC is an efficient epidemiological surveillance data source and should be integrated into the national surveillance system.

A web-based prospective cohort study of home, leisure, school and sports injuries in France: a descriptive analysis.

BACKGROUND: Home and leisure injuries (HLIs) are a major public health problem. Cohort studies among general population are needed for targeted preventive actions but remain scarce. We quantify and qualify the HLIs collected prospectively in the MAVIE (Mutualists against Home and Leisure Injuries) observatory, a web-based cohort among volunteers of the French general population. METHODS: Participants reported HLIs from November 2014 to December 2019. We calculated crude and standardized incidence rates (SIRs) on the entire cohort, for each of the selected socio-demographic variables and each of the injury circumstances (place and activity), mechanisms, and injury severity levels. We also described other HLIs characteristics and consequences. RESULTS: Out of the 29,931 household members enrolled in the cohort, 12,419 participants completed the questionnaires. Among them, 8640 participants provided follow-up data, leading to a follow-up of 6302 persons for 5.2 years and 2483 HLIs were reported. We obtained a SIR of 85.0 HLIs per 1000 persons-years. Most reported injuries did not require emergency department attendance or hospitalization (64%). SIRs were higher in children (< 15 years of age) (109.1 HLIs per 1000 persons-years; 95% CI, 78.2-140.1) and adults aged 70 years and older (123.7 HLIs per 1000 persons-years; 95% CI, 79.2-168.3). Struck or hit by fall was the most frequent injury mechanism (52%) and also among the most severe injuries (73% of Struck or hit by fall HLIs ending with hospitalization). Sport (without contact with nature), and leisure and play activities were the injury circumstances with higher SIRs, 15.2 HLIs per 1000 persons-years (95% CI, 14.6-15.8) and 11.2 HLIs per 1000 persons-years (95% CI, 10.7-11.6), respectively. Outdoor sport activity (in contact with nature) was the circumstance with the highest proportion of hospitalizations (18% of outdoor sports HLIs ending with hospitalization). CONCLUSION: The incidences, causes, and consequences of HLI differ by age group and are mainly related to the performance of certain activities. Although the participants in the MAVIE cohort were not representative of the French population. Our study identified potential sub-populations and specific types of HLIs that should be targeted by future studies concerning risk factors and prevention programs.

Medicine consumptions and occupational road risk.

BACKGROUND: Whereas an increased risk of road traffic crashes has been highlighted as linked to some medicine consumptions, there is no available data on this risk according to the type of journey (private, commuting or mission). Drivers on occupational journey (commuting or mission) are likely to have different coping behaviors related to the use of medicines than drivers on private journey. The aim of our study was to investigate the association between exposure to ten classes of medicines and the risk of being responsible for a road traffic crash according to the type of journey (private, commuting or mission). METHODS: The data used came from three French national databases: the national police database of injurious crashes, the police reports and the national health care insurance database. A total of 179,269 drivers aged between 18 and 65 years old involved in an injurious crash in France between July 2005 and December 2015 were included in the analyses. Logistic regression models stratified by journey were used to estimate the Odds Ratios (OR) and 95 % confidence intervals (95 % CI), adjusted for potential confounding factors. RESULTS: Medicines exposure levels were generally lower for drivers during occupational journeys, the risk of being responsible for a road traffic crash seems to be higher on commuting or mission journeys than on private journeys for four medicines. Indeed, for antiepileptics the OR was 1.59 [1.01-2.51] for mission journeys, 1.63 [1.24-2.15] for commuting journeys, and 1.47 [1.25-1.73] for private journey. For psycholeptics the OR was 1.02 [0.80-1.28] for mission journey, 1.19 [1.03-1.39] for commuting and 1.17 [1.08-1.26] for private journey. For psychoanaleptics OR was 1.35 [1.02-1.78] for mission journeys, 1.37 [1.17-1.60] for commuting journeys and 1.26 [1.14-1.40] for private journeys. Finally, for other nervous system drugs OR reached 2.04 [1.35-3.07] for mission journeys compared to 1.43 [1.21-1.70] for private journeys. CONCLUSION: Our results encourage the implementation of preventive measures about some treatments and diseases in the context of occupational journeys.

Effect of wearing a helmet on the occurrence of head injuries in motorcycle riders in Benin: a case-control study.

BACKGROUND: In Benin, motorcycles are the main means of transport for road users and are involved in more than half of crashes. This study aims to determine the effect of wearing a helmet on reducing head injuries in road crashes in Benin. METHODS: This case-control study took place in 2020 and focused on road trauma victims. The sample, consisting of 242 cases (trauma victims with head injuries) for 484 controls (without head injuries), was drawn from a database of traffic crash victims recruited from five hospitals across the country from July 2019 to January 2020. Four groups of independent variables were studied: socio-demographic and economic variables, history, behavioural variables including helmet use and road-related and environmental variables. To assess the shape of the association between the independent variables and the dependent variable, a descending step-by-step binary logistic regression model was performed using an explanatory approach. RESULTS: Fewer of the subjects with a head injury were wearing a helmet at the time of the crash 69.8% (95% CI = 63.6-75.6) compared to those without a head injury 90.3% (95% CI = 87.3-92.8). Adjusting for the other variables, subjects not wearing helmets were at greater risk of head injuries (OR = 3.8, 95% CI (2.5-5.7)); the head injury rating was 1.9 (95% CI = 1.2-3.3) times higher in subjects who were fatigued during the crash than among those who were not and 2.0 (95% CI = 1.2-3.3) times higher in subjects with no medical history. CONCLUSION: Failure to wear a helmet exposes motorcyclists to the risk of head injuries during crashes. It is important to increase awareness and better target such initiatives at the subjects most at risk.

Trends in reasons for emergency calls during the COVID-19 crisis in the department of Gironde, France using artificial neural network for natural language classification.

OBJECTIVES: During periods such as the COVID-19 crisis, there is a need for responsive public health surveillance indicators in order to monitor both the epidemic growth and potential public health consequences of preventative measures such as lockdown. We assessed whether the automatic classification of the content of calls to emergency medical communication centers could provide relevant and responsive indicators. METHODS: We retrieved all 796,209 free-text call reports from the emergency medical communication center of the Gironde department, France, between 2018 and 2020. We trained a natural language processing neural network model with a mixed unsupervised/supervised method to classify all reasons for calls in 2020. Validation and parameter adjustment were performed using a sample of 39,907 manually-coded free-text reports. RESULTS: The number of daily calls for flu-like symptoms began to increase from February 21, 2020 and reached an unprecedented level by February 28, 2020 and peaked on March 14, 2020, 3 days before lockdown. It was strongly correlated with daily emergency room admissions, with a delay of 14 days. Calls for chest pain and stress and anxiety, peaked 12 days later. Calls for malaises with loss of consciousness, non-voluntary injuries and alcohol intoxications sharply decreased, starting one month before lockdown. No noticeable trends in relation to lockdown was found for other groups of reasons including gastroenteritis and abdominal pain, stroke, suicide and self-harm, pregnancy and delivery problems. DISCUSSION: The first wave of the COVID-19 crisis came along with increased levels of stress and anxiety but no increase in alcohol intoxication and violence. As expected, call related to road traffic crashes sharply decreased. The sharp decrease in the number of calls for malaise was more surprising. CONCLUSION: The content of calls to emergency medical communication centers is an efficient epidemiological surveillance data source that provides insights into the societal upheavals induced by a health crisis. The use of an automatic classification system using artificial intelligence makes it possible to free itself from the context that could influence a human coder, especially in a crisis situation. The COVID-19 crisis and/or lockdown induced deep modifications in the population health profile.

A longitudinal study of mental health before and during COVID-19 lockdown in the French population.

BACKGROUND: The impact of general population lockdown implemented in the face of the COVID-19 epidemic needs to be evaluated. We describe here a longitudinal study on the mental health of adults in France. METHODS: We did a secondary analysis of a web-based cohort, initially set up to study home and leisure injuries, in order to measure the consequences of the national lockdown implemented in France from 17 March 2020 to 11 May 2020, and to assess potential vulnerability and resilience factors. Eligible participants were invited to answer an online questionnaire designed to assess their living conditions and health during lockdown. Comparisons were done with answers provided 4.8 years earlier on average. RESULTS: On 15th April 2020, we sent email invitations to 9598 participants recruited between November 2014 and December 2019 and 1237 volunteers took part in the study by completing the online questionnaire. The proportion of those with anxiety symptoms markedly increased from 17.3 to 20.1%. The average self-rated level of mental health decreased from 7.77 to 7.58. Women, the elderly and the youngest appeared to be more vulnerable. A small living space (less than 30 m2) was associated with an increase in depression symptoms (PHQ-9 score), and poorer self-rated physical health at recruitment was associated with an increase in anxiety symptoms (GAD-7 score). On the contrary, the average self-rated level of physical health markedly increased from 7.44 to 7.94 between recruitment and lockdown, and the proportion of those who reported a level of 9 or 10 jumped from 25.7% at recruitment to 43.1% during lockdown. CONCLUSIONS: Mental health deteriorated during lockdown in France during the 2020 COVID-19 crisis. Overall, self-rated physical health improved but those who experienced a worse physical health were more likely to report anxiety symptoms.

Cohort profile: MAVIE a web-based prospective cohort study of home, leisure, and sports injuries in France.

MAVIE is a web-based prospective cohort study of Home, Leisure, and Sports Injuries with a longitudinal follow-up of French general population volunteers. MAVIE participants are voluntary members of French households, including overseas territories. Participation in the cohort involves answering individual and household questionnaires and relevant exposures and prospectively reporting injury events during the follow-up. Recruitment and data collection have been in progress since 2014. The number of participants as of the end of the year 2019 was 12,419 from 9,483 households. A total of 8,640 participants provided data during follow-up. Respondents to follow-up were composed of 763 children aged 0-14, 655 teenagers and young adults aged 15-29, 6,845 adults, and 377 people aged 75 or more. At the end of the year 2019, 1,698 participants had reported 2,483 injury events. Children, people aged 50 and more, people with poor self-perceived physical and mental health, people who engage in sports activities, and people with a history of injury during the year before recruitment were more likely to report new injuries. An interactive mobile/web application (MAVIE-Lab) was developed to help volunteers decide on personalized measures to prevent their risks of HLIs. The available data provides an opportunity to analyse multiple exposures at both the individual and household levels that may be associated with an increased risk of trauma. The ongoing analysis includes HLI incidence estimates, the determination of health-related risk factors, a specific study on the risk of home injury, another on sports injuries, and an analysis of the role of cognitive skills and mind wandering. Volunteers form a community that constitutes a population laboratory for preventative initiatives.

Chronic medical conditions and their association with crash risk and changes in driving habits: a prospective study of the GAZEL cohort.

OBJECTIVES: To assess crash risk and driving habits associated with chronic medical conditions among drivers entering old age. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: French cohort GAZEL. PARTICIPANTS: 12 460 drivers in the analysis of road traffic crash, among whom 11 670 completed the follow-up period (2007-2014). We assessed driving cessation among 11 633 participants over the same period, and mileage and driving avoidance among the 4973 participants who returned a road safety questionnaire in 2015. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Yearly occurrence of at least one road crash as a driver; time to driving cessation; mileage; driving avoidance: at night, with bad weather, in heavy traffic, with glare conditions, over long distances. RESULTS: Several potentially risky conditions (angina, myocardial infarction, coronary disease; stroke; nephritic colic, urinary stones; glaucoma) were associated with lower mileage and/or driving avoidance and did not increase crash risk. Neither driving avoidance nor lower mileage was found for other conditions associated with an increased crash risk: hearing difficulties (adjusted OR 1.19, 95% CI 1.06 to 1.34); joint disorders (1.17, 95% CI 1.06 to 1.30). Depression, anxiety and stress was associated with an increased crash risk (1.23, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.49) despite increased driving avoidance. Parkinson's disease was associated with driving cessation (adjusted HR 32.61, 95% CI 14.21 to 65.17). CONCLUSIONS: Depending on their condition, and probably on the associated risk perception, drivers entering old age report diverse driving habits. For example, hearing difficulties is a frequent condition, rarely considered a threat to road safety, and nonetheless associated with an increased crash risk.

Examining the Association Between Alcohol Consumption and Health Conditions in Community Dwelling Older Adults.

The Canadian low-risk drinking guidelines were developed for adults, however, the applicability to older adults was not considered in the development of the guidelines. The objectives of this study were to: (1) to examine alcohol use in community dwelling older males and females using the current Canadian guidelines; (2) to test lower limits of alcohol use on various health factors; and (3) to determine health factors associated with high-risk drinking in older males and females. Data on community dwelling older adults (aged 65 +) was used from the Canadian Injury Prevention Survey (n = 2274). Descriptive statistics and comparative analysis were used to compare alcohol consumption categories. Logistic regressions were performed to examine the relationships between health factors and alcohol consumption categories. 70% of the sample reported having at least one drink per week; 4.5% of males and 6.8% of females were high-risk drinkers according to the current guidelines. There were no significant associations between the current alcohol categories with demographics, behavioral risk factors or health conditions. Using the new guidelines, 21% of males and females were classified as high-risk drinkers, respectively. Diabetes and having an illness or disability before retirement was protective of high-risk drinking in males while having diabetes and poorer physical health was protective of high-risk drinking in females. The prevalence of high-risk drinkers is dependent on what alcohol classifications are used. Further studies are needed to determine the causal relationships between health-related factors and alcohol using standardized definitions of alcohol consumption.

Factors associated with serious vehicular accidents: A cross-sectional study in hospital emergency rooms.

AIMS: Pictograms on medicine boxes warn of potential drug-related driving hazard; we studied their association with serious accidents. METHODS: Prospective study in emergency departments of the hospitals in Bordeaux and Périgueux (France), of drivers with serious (admitted at least 24 hours) or nonserious vehicular accidents. Minors, passengers, pedestrians or subjects incapable of answering an interview were excluded. Interviews ascertained driver and accident characteristics, use of drugs with or without pictograms, use of alcohol and abuse substances, sleepiness, distractions, and mind wandering at the time of the accident, RESULTS: Between 18 October 2016 and 26 December 2018, 1200 of the 6212 drivers admitted to the hospital emergency rooms, 741 nonserious, 459 serious, were interviewed. Serious accidents were associated with male sex (odds ratio 1.89, 95% confidence interval [1.36-2.64]), age above 60 years (3.64 [2.21-6.00]), driving on local roads (3.34 [2.34-4.76]), driving a motorcycle (3.39 [2.29-5.00]), having drunk alcohol within 6 hours (2.89 [1.85-4.51]) and using a drug with a pictogram during the 24 hours previous to the accident (1.57 [1.06-2.32]). From 207 police reports, 101 drivers were not responsible, and 106 were responsible, associated with age below 40 years, driving in overcast or rainy weather (2.62 [1.29-5.33]), on local roads (3.89 [1.90-7.95]), and use of at least 1 pictogram drug in the previous week (3.12 [1.31-7.41]). CONCLUSION: The known risks of alcohol and pictogram drugs, of riding motorcycles and using local roads were confirmed. As measured, behavioural sleepiness did not predict accidents.

Road traffic crash characteristics of drivers who take prescription medicines that carry a risk to driving.

BACKGROUND: The specific features of crashes involving an alcohol-intoxicated driver have been extensively characterized, but no such data are available for crashes involving a driver who has used a prescription medicine, which could help to plan and target prevention and control initiatives. This study aimed to describe the characteristics of crashes involving drivers under the influence of prescription medicines. METHODS: We took advantage of CESIR, a French record linkage study for which data were extracted and matched from three French national databases: police reports, the national police database of injurious crashes and the national health care insurance database (HCI database). The drivers included in the study were those involved in an injurious road crash in France from July 1, 2005 to December 31, 2015, whose national identity number, date of birth and sex allowed matching. Prescription medicines considered were those with the two highest levels of warning. RESULTS: Similar crash profiles were found when drivers used alcohol or medicines, particularly with respect to injury severity, type of vehicle, type of collision, type of road and cross-track profile. Alcohol-related crashes were over-represented during weekends and in low-density areas and medicine-related crashes were over-represented during weekdays and in cities of fewer than 300 000 inhabitants. While a much higher strength of association with responsibility was found for alcohol than for medicines, the proportion of crashes with drivers using medicines was twice as high as crashes with drivers using alcohol. CONCLUSION: The lower risk carried by medicines is therefore in part compensated by a higher prevalence of use, making medicines one of the hidden factors of road risk. Characterizing these crashes will therefore be useful to better focus road safety intervention on the prevention of driving under the influence of psychotropic medicines.

Stress and lasting symptoms following injury: Results from a 4-month cohort of trauma patients recruited at the emergency department.

INTRODUCTION: Recent research suggests that up to 20% of minor trauma patients admitted to the emergency department (ED) will suffer from non-specific chronic conditions over the subsequent several months. Thus, the present study assessed the correlates of symptoms that persisted at 4 months after an ED visit and, in particular, evaluated the associations between these symptoms and self-reported stress levels at ED admission and discharge. METHOD: This study was a prospective observational investigation conducted in the ED of Bordeaux University Hospital that included patients admitted for minor trauma. All participants were contacted by phone 4 months after presentation at the ED to assess the occurrence of post-concussion-like symptoms (PCLS). RESULTS: A total of 193 patients completed the follow-up assessment at 4 months; 5.2% of the participants suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and 24.5% suffered from PCLS. A multivariate analysis revealed an association between PCLS and stress level at discharge from the ED (odds ratios [OR]: 2.85, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.10-7.40). CONCLUSIONS: The risk of PCLS at 4 months after an ED visit for a minor injury increased in association with the level of stress at discharge from the ED. These results may improve the quality of life for the millions of patients who experience a stressful injury event every year.