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. 2019 Jul 29;16(15):2706.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph16152706.

The Association between Mobile Phone Use and Severe Traffic Injuries: A Case-Control Study from Saudi Arabia

Suliman Alghnam  1 , Jawaher Towhari  2 , Mohamed Alkelya  3 , Ahmad Alsaif  2 , Mohamed Alrowaily  4 , Fawaz Alrabeeah  5 , Ibrahim Albabtain  6
Affiliations

The Association between Mobile Phone Use and Severe Traffic Injuries: A Case-Control Study from Saudi Arabia

Suliman Alghnam et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Road traffic injury (RTI) is the third leading cause of death in Saudi Arabia. Using a mobile phone when driving is associated with distracted driving, which may result in RTIs. Because of limited empirical data, we investigated the association between mobile phone use and RTI in injured patients and community controls in Riyadh. Cases were patients admitted to King Abdulaziz Medical City (KAMC) between October 2016 and March 2018 due to RTIs. During admission, mobile phone use at the time of the accident was investigated. The controls were drivers observed at various locations citywide. A logistic regression model was constructed to estimate the association between mobile phone use while driving and sustaining RTIs. We included 318 cases and 1700 controls. For the cases, using a mobile phone was associated with higher severity and prevalence of disability. In addition, using a mobile phone while driving is associated with 44% higher odds of incurring a severe RTI (p = 0.04). Mobile phone use while driving is prevalent in Riyadh and pose a significant threat of disability. In addition, the low prevalence of seatbelt use is alarming and requires significant improvement. Prevention programs may use these findings to educate the public and policymakers and to advocate for increased visibility of enforcement to reduce RTIs and improve population health.

Keywords: HRQOL; Saudi Arabia; mobile phone; road injuries; seatbelt.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Observation sites for seatbelt and mobile violations in Riyadh.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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