Bicycle Injuries Associated With Drug Use in the United States, 2019-2020.

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to analyze the descriptive epidemiology of bicycle-related injuries associated with substances of abuse other than alcohol and to examine types of drugs involved and injury diagnoses.

METHOD: We used data from the 2019-2020 National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) among persons seeking treatment in emergency departments in the United States.

RESULTS

There were 11,314 bicycle injuries related to drug use. The most common drug reported was methamphetamine, followed by marijuana and opioids. The majority of injuries were fractures or internal organ injuries. Alcohol was involved in 22.3% of these incidents, and 32.3% of those injured were admitted to the hospital.

CONCLUSIONS

Drug-related bicycle injuries are a significant public health issue. Prevention and control of these injuries is needed, but will likely prove to be difficult because of the variety of circumstances involved but will be aided by the expansion of quality surveillance data and further research examining the circumstances surrounding the injuries.