Trends in serious head injuries among cyclists in England: analysis of routinely collected data

As the health and environmental benefits of cycling have become better appreciated, successive governments in the United Kingdom have encouraged cycle use.Cyclists, however, face considerable risk of injury, of which head injuries most commonly result in serious adverse outcomes.Despite evidence from casecontrol and time trend studies, 1 2 questions remain about the effectiveness of helmets, particularly for adults.We examined trends in emergency admissions for cycle injuries to English hospitals between 1991 and 1995, during which time the wearing of helmets increased (Research International Ltd, personal communication).3 admissions the reductions were estimated as: junior, 9% (95% confidence interval 3% to 16%); secondary, 11% (7% to 16%); and adult, 13% (11% to 16%).