Risk factors for traffic accidents in Bangkok Metropolis: a case-reference study.

It was aimed to study injures from road traffic accidents in Bangkok Metropolis and identify patients' characteristics as well as to search for risk factors for traffic accidents leading to hospitalization. The study included 346 in-patient cases suffering injuries from road traffic accidents in Bangkok Metropolis. The patients were recruited during a period of 4 months of the year 1992 from five hospitals in various areas of Bangkok which were judged to be representative for Bangkok Metropolis. Using the method of case-reference, relative risk could be estimated for various exposure factors. Most of the patients drove a motorcycle, had their license for only a short period, and drove more than 5 hours a day. About one third of the patients were under the influence of alcohol. The traffic accident characteristics were that they occurred mainly at night time with the peak between 21.00 and 24.00 hours. About 90% of all traffic accidents occurred during the rainy season and most of them occurred near to road junctions. Reference data was available for some variables and the following risk group could be identified: RR (male-age 20-24) = 17.06 (8.8-33.9), RR (single-marital status) = 2.25 (1.7-3.1), RR (primary-education) = 6.2 (2.9-12.6), RR (unskilled labourer-occupation) = 3.91 (2.7-5.9), RR (salesperson-occupation) = 3.34 (2.2-5.0).