A comparison of the characteristics of injuries between obese and non-obese inpatients.

OBJECTIVE: The objective was to compare characteristics of injuries between a sample of U.S. obese and non-obese inpatients. METHODS: Discharge records from the 2002 Nationwide Inpatient Sample of the Healthcare Cost and Use Project were analyzed to identify records including an International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification injury diagnosis code (ICD-9-CM). Records with an exclusive obesity comorbidity were isolated, and proportionate injury ratios with 95% confidence intervals were calculated to compare the demographics and injury characteristics between obese and non-obese persons hospitalized for an injury. RESULTS: A total of 160,707 discharge records were analyzed. Type and cause of injury that required hospitalization were significantly associated with obesity status (p < 0.001). Sprains, strains, and dislocations represented significantly higher proportions of injury-related hospitalizations among obese persons compared with non-obese persons. By cause of injury, injuries among obese persons were more frequently due to falls, overexertion, and poisonings compared with non-obese persons. DISCUSSION: Injuries that required hospitalization among obese persons may have injury characteristics distinct from injuries among non-obese persons.

Use of protective eyewear in U.S. children: results from the National Health Interview Survey.

PURPOSE: To study use of protective eyewear in children who participated in activities that can cause eye injury. METHODS: National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) data from 2002 were used to analyze protective eyewear use by children who participated in activities that can cause eye injury. Weighted percentages and 95% confidence intervals (CI) of the sociodemographic characteristics of children who wore protective eyewear were analyzed. Odds ratios (OR) were estimated in logistic regression models. RESULTS: In the 2002 NHIS, 3,901 children aged 6-17 years (51% of interviewed children) participated in activities that can cause eye injury, but while doing so, only 14.5% of children wore protective eyewear. After controlling for potentially confounding effects of study variables, females were less likely to wear protective eyewear than males (OR = 0.61; 95% CI: 0.48-0.76) and children aged 12-17 years were more likely to wear protective eyewear than children aged 6-8 years (12-14 year olds: OR = 1.72, 95% CI: 1.20-2.46; 15-17 year olds: OR = 1.60; 95% CI: 1.11-2.31). Race/ethnicity, parent's education, family structure, poverty status, and region of United States residence did not have significant influence on protective eyewear use. CONCLUSIONS: To achieve the Healthy People 2010 objective of 20% of children using protective eyewear in recreational activities and hazardous situations around the home, intervention/education programs must continue to be improved and implemented.