Gender differences in snowboarding accidents in Austria: a 2005–2018 registry analysis

Abstract

Objectives To elucidate gender differences in snowboarding accidents.Design Retrospective registry analysis within the Austrian National Registry of Mountain Accidents.Setting Snowboard-related emergencies between November 2005 and October 2018.Participants All injured snowboarders with documented injury severity and gender (3536 men; 2155 women).Primary and secondary outcome measures Gender-specific analysis of emergency characteristics and injury patterns.Results Over time, the number of mild, severe and fatal injuries per season decreased in men but not in women. Accidents most frequently were interindividual collisions (>80%) and occurred when heading downhill on a slope. Men more often suffered injuries to the shoulder (15.1% vs 9.2%) and chest (6.8% vs 4.4%), were involved in accidents caused by falling (12.9% vs 9.6%) or obstacle impact (4.3% vs 1.5%), while on slopes with higher difficulty levels (red: 42.6% vs 39.9%; black: 4.2% vs 2.5%), while snowboarding in a park (4.8% vs 2.1%) and under the influence of alcohol (1.6% vs 0.5%). Women more often sustained injuries to the back (10.2% vs 13.1%) and pelvis (2.9% vs 4.2%), on easier slopes (blue: 46.1% vs 52.4%) and while standing or sitting (11.0% vs 15.8%). Mild injuries were more frequent in women (48.6% vs 56.4%), severe and fatal injuries in men (36.0% vs 29.7% and 0.9% vs 0.4%). Male gender, age and the use of a helmet were risk factors for the combined outcome of severe or fatal injuries (OR (99% CI): 1.22 (1.00 to 1.48), 1.02 (1.02 to 1.03) and 1.31 (1.05 to 1.63)). When wearing a helmet, the relative risk (RR) for severe injuries increased while that for mild injuries decreased in male snowboarders only (RR (95% CI): 1.21 (1.09 to 1.34) and 0.88 (0.83 to 0.95)).Conclusions Snowboard injuries are proportionally increasing in women and the observed injury patterns and emergency characteristics differ substantially from those of men. Further gender-specific research in snowboard-related injuries should be encouraged.Trial registration number NCT03755050.