Background: Poor health status as a risk factor for injury has not been well elucidated. This study aims to investigate the overall risk of injury and the association between health status and risk of injury in New Zealand.
Methods: We used data from the Survey of Families, Income and Employment (SoFIE) (n=18,955). The outcome measure was self-report of an injury in the past 12 months which stopped you doing your normal activities for more than 7 days. Health status variables were prior self-rated health and number of comorbid conditions. Logistic regression was used to quantify the association adjusting for confounders, overall and for men and women separately.
Results: 12% of respondents reported an injury in the past 12 months. Injury was more common in men, young people, and Maori respondents. A linear relationship between worsening health status and increasing injury risk was evident. A strong crude relationship was found of poor self-rated health and the risk of subsequent injury (OR 1.72 95%CI 1.48-2.01), and between 2 or more comorbid diseases and injury (OR 1.70 95%CI 1.47-1.96). The odds ratio was unchanged after adjustment for confounders and health status variables.
Conclusions: Injuries which disrupt usual activities for more than a week are common and represent a significant impact on society from injury which is not captured by health care statistics. People with pre-existing medical conditions conditions are at increased risk of injury and should be targeted for injury prevention activities.