Bike helmet laws help prevent head injuries

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Laws requiring bicyclists to wear helmets do increase helmet use, and may also reduce head injury rates among young bike riders, according to a report in The Cochrane Library, a publication of the Cochrane Collaboration, an international organization that evaluates health research.

Anneliese Spinks of Griffith University in Queensland, Australia and Dr. Alison Macpherson of York University in Toronto examined the effectiveness of legislation requiring bike helmets, which has been enacted in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Of 25 identified studies, 5 met standards for statistical quality. Three were from the US and two were from Canada.

Four of the studies looked at helmet laws addressing child bicyclists only, and used adults as a control group, while the fifth used children from provinces where bike helmets were not required by law as a control group.

Three of the studies looked at head injury rates after the introduction, or enforcement, of legislation. One study, of police enforcement of legislation in San Diego County, found no change in head injury rates after enforcement began.

Another, a statewide California study, found an 18 percent drop in traumatic brain injuries among young cyclists after legislation was introduced, with the greatest reduction seen among children aged 9 and younger.

The third, from Canada, found a 45 percent drop in head injuries in provinces with bike helmet laws on the books, compared to a 27 percent reduction in provinces without such laws, a significant reduction.

The three studies that looked at helmet use found new laws or enforcement of existing laws significantly increased helmet use.

"More high quality studies are needed" to assess the impact of legislation requiring helmets on bicycle related head injuries, particularly in adult populations, and the potential for legislation to discourage cycling participation, the researchers conclude.

"Funding should be made available by governments introducing helmet laws to ensure that methodologically sound evaluations of the protective effect and potential reductions in cycling are conducted," they add.

SOURCE: Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2007.