A booming economy means a bursting trauma system: association between hospital admission for major injury and indicators of economic activity in a large Canadian health region

BackgroundInjury epidemiology fluctuates with economic activity in many countries. These relationships remain unclear in Canada.MethodsThe annual risk of admission for major injury (Injury Severity Score ≥12) to a high-volume, level-1 Canadian trauma center was compared with indicators of economic activity over a 16-year period using linear regression.ResultsAn increased risk of injured patient admissions was associated with rising mean gross domestic product (GDP [millions of chained 2002 dollars]) (.36 person increase per 100,000 population/$1,000 increase in GDP; P = .001) and annual gasoline prices (.47 person increase per 100,000 population/cent increase in gasoline price; P = .001). Recreation-related vehicle injuries were also associated with economic affluence. The risk of trauma patient mortality with increasing mean annual GDP (P = .72) and gasoline prices (P = .32) remained unchanged.ConclusionHospital admissions for major injury, but not trauma patient mortality, were associated with economic activity in a large Canadian health care region.