Cyclists who die of a head injury are much less likely to have been wearing a helmet than bike riders who die of other injuries, a study has found, underscoring what researchers say is the need for mandatory helmet use for Canadians of all ages.
The study, which analyzed 129 accidental bicycle-related deaths in Ontario between 2006 and 2010, found cyclists who didn't wear a helmet were three times more likely to die from brain trauma than those who wore protective head gear while riding.
"Helmets save lives," said Dr. Nav Persaud, a family physician and researcher at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto, who led the study.
"There are about 70 cycling deaths in Canada every year," Persaud said. "And based on our study, we estimate we could prevent about 20 of them with helmets."
The research, published Monday in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, showed more than three-quarters of the head-injury deaths among cyclists involved a collision with a motor vehicle.
The rest were caused by an impact with another bicycle, a pedestrian or some other object. In more than 10 per cent of cases, death resulted from a fall, data from the Ontario Chief Coroner's office showed. Cyclists killed ranged in age from 10 to 83, and 86 per cent of them were male.
In B.C., Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, children and adults must don a helmet to ride a bike. But in Ontario and Alberta, for instance, only children under 18 are required by law to wear helmets.
Although based on Ontario data, Persaud said the findings have implications for other provinces and territories.
"This study shows that helmets are effective, so anything that promotes helmet use would be effective," said Persaud.
