Duration of sickness absence following a bicycle crash, by injury type and injured body region: A nationwide register-based study

In recent years, bicycle injuries have increased but little is known about the relation of such injures to sickness absence (SA). The aim of this study was to investigate duration of SA > 14 days after a bicycle crash, in general and by injury type and injured body region. A population-based study was conducted, including all individuals living in Sweden, aged 16-64 years, who in 2009-2011 had in- or specialized outpatient medical care due to a new injury from a bicycle crash (n = 22,045), excluding those already on SA or full-time disability pension at the time of the crash. Crude and adjusted odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for a new SA were estimated by logistic regression. In total, 4387 (20%) had new SA in connection to the crash. SA was most common among individuals aged 55-64 years (32%), and more common among women (23%) than men (18%). Fractures was the injury type with the highest OR for SA across all durations, but highest for 30-89 days (8.09; CI 6.30-10.39). Spine and back was the body region with the highest OR for SA ≥ 90 days (11.98; CI 7.38-19.46), followed by Traumatic Brain Injuries (6.64; CI 4.01-10.98), and injuries to lower extremities (5.28; CI 3.58-7.78). For 235 individuals (5%) the SA spell lasted ≥ 180 days. Among those cases, the most commonly injured body regions were lower leg (21%) followed by shoulder and upper arm (17%), and Traumatic Brain Injuries (15%). In conclusion, the duration of SA varied with type of injury and injured body region. Among the very long SA spells, common injuries were injuries to the lower leg, to the shoulder and upper arm, and traumatic brain injuries.