Elsevier

Injury

Volume 34, Issue 12, December 2003, Pages 892-896
Injury

Deaths associated with snow skiing in Colorado 1980–1981 to 2000–2001 ski seasons

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0020-1383(03)00055-XGet rights and content

Abstract

Objectives: To investigate the trend and injury patterns of deaths associated with snow skiing in Colorado between 1980 and 2001.

Methods: Death certificates were searched electronically and reviewed manually. Total skier ticket sales were used to calculate death rates. Types of injuries and characteristics of those who died were investigated.

Results: A total of 274 skier deaths occurred between 1980 and 2001 in Colorado. Death rates ranged from 0.53 to 1.88 per million skier visits. The majority of deaths were among males (>81%). Ages ranged from 7 to 77 years with an average of 32 years. The greatest number of deaths associated with downhill skiing (76 deaths) occurred between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. while the greatest number of deaths associated with cross-country skiing happened between 2:00 and 6:00 p.m. About 65% of deaths associated with downhill skiing (133 cases) died of traumatic injuries resulting from collisions.

Conclusions: A slight increase in the rate of ski-related deaths was observed. The role of collisions in ski-related deaths warrants further investigation to reduce the risk of this activity for all skiers. Further work is needed to determine the efficacy of helmet use to reduce the risk of head injuries in the skiing population.

Introduction

Snow skiing is a popular winter sport in Colorado. Since 1990, more than 10 million skier visits have been recorded in Colorado annually. Skiing and snowboarding are known to pose a high risk for injury because of the high speed involved, and the rising number of skier deaths has increasingly become a concern to public health professionals and the general public 1., 2., 13.. Complete and accurate identification of all deaths associated with skiing and snowboarding is a critical first step in the prevention of such deaths. Only by having a clear understanding of the magnitude of skiing-related mortality can comprehensive prevention strategies be formulated to prevent unanticipated deaths among a primarily young, healthy population.

Although numerous studies from both the United States and other countries 3., 4., 5., 6., 7., 8., 9., 10., 11., 13., 14., 15., 16., 17., 18., 19. have investigated ski injuries, only a few studies 9., 13., 16., 17., 19. reviewed deaths associated with snow skiing and snowboarding. Furthermore, information to date is derived from a small number of cases reviewed (16–29 deaths). A detailed analysis of large numbers of skier deaths has almost never been performed. This study examines all deaths associated with skiing and snowboarding that occurred between 1980–1981 and 2000–2001 ski seasons in Colorado. Of special interest are the trend of deaths over time, circumstances surrounding those deaths, and injury types and patterns.

Section snippets

Methods

This study is a descriptive analysis of all deaths associated with snow skiing and snowboarding in Colorado from 1980 to 1981 through the 2000 to 2001 ski seasons. A death was considered to be related to skiing or recreational snow activities if the deceased was referred to as a skier, or the death-producing event occurred at a ski area or in an area that appeared to be a cross-country ski area and the cause of death was consistent with snow skiing. Death certificates were the source of

Results

During the 21 ski seasons reviewed, a total of 274 snow skiing associated deaths occurred in Colorado. The crude death rates per year ranged from 0.53 per million skier visits in 1981–1982 to 1.88 per million skier visits in 1986–1987 (Fig. 1). Although big variations were observed in the death rates over time, there was a rising trend of deaths rates over the 21 ski seasons reviewed. None of the deaths before 1996 was associated with snowboarding. In each year following the 1995–1996 season,

Discussion

The crude annual skier death rates found in this study were consistent with those previously reported 13., 16., 17., 19.. In a 5-year study in Utah, Weston et al. 19 reported a death rate of six traumatic deaths for 3.5 million skier days. In Australia, Sherry and Clout 13 reported an overall death rate of 0.87 deaths per million skier days based on a 32 years’ study of cases. However, the increased trend of death rates over 21 ski seasons in this study is disturbing and worthy of further

Acknowledgements

H. Xiang and L. Stallones conceived and designed the study. H. Xiang collected and analyzed the data, interpreted the results, and wrote the first draft of the paper. H. Xiang and L. Stallones revised and approved the final paper.

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The contents of this paper are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official view of Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

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