Sensory deficit and the risk of pedestrian injury.

OBJECTIVES

To examine the association between sensory deficit and the risk of child pedestrian-motor vehicle collisions.

SETTING

The Auckland region of New Zealand.

METHODS

A community based case-control study was conducted. Cases (n = 190) were all children (< 15 years) killed or hospitalised as a result of a pedestrian injury occurring on a public road between 1 January 1992 and 1 March 1994. Controls (n = 479) were a random sample of the child population.

RESULTS

The risk of pedestrian injury for children whose parents reported abnormal vision was over four times that of children with reported normal vision (odds ratio = 4.25, 95% confidence interval 1.68 to 10.8). The risk of injury for children whose parents reported abnormal hearing was close to twice that of children with reported normal hearing (odds ratio = 1.73, 95% confidence interval 0.83 to 3.61).

CONCLUSIONS

Children with sensory deficits constitute a high risk group for pedestrian injuries. Paediatricians caring for children with sensory impairments should be aware of this increased risk.