Age and Gender: Two Epidemiological Factors in Skiing and Snowboarding Injury

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Abstract
Developing injury prevention programs and increasing safety awareness require careful analyses of the population at risk and the determinants of behavior. This retrospective study analyzes 2139 injury reports from Blackcomb Mountain, Canada, during the 1991–1992 season, and shows that age and gender are important epidemiological factors in populations at risk for skiing and snowboarding injuries. Young children and teenagers are the age groups most at risk for injury, and the incidence of head and facial injury is high. Males are the gender most vulnerable to injury. Female injury patterns are different from those in males, particularly with regard to knee injury, and thus female groups should receive specific attention and individual focus in health promotion intervention plans. A single injury prevention strategy attempting to address all age groups and both genders simultaneously would be unlikely to reduce the rate of injury equally throughout skiing and snowboarding populations.

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