A systematic review on the influence of pre-existing disability on sustaining injury

Objective: To systematically review studies measuring the influence of pre-existing disability on the risk of sustaining an injury. Design: Systematic review. Data sources: Electronic databases searched included Medline (Pubmed), ProQuest, Ovid and EMBASE. Inclusion criteria: Studies (1990-2010) in international peer-reviewed journals were identified with main inclusion criteria being that the study assessed involvement of injury sustained by persons with and without pre-existing disability. Methods: Studies were collated by design and methods, and evaluation of results. Results: Twenty-two studies met the inclusion criteria of our review. All studies found that persons with disabilities were at a significantly higher risk of sustaining injuries than those without. Persons with disability had a 30-450% increased odds (odds ratio 1.3-5.5) of sustaining injury compared to persons without disability. Among persons with pre-existing disability, the high risk groups of sustaining an injury are children and elderly. Conclusions: People with disabilities experience a higher risk to sustain an injury in comparison to the healthy population. There is a high need for large epidemiological studies of injury among persons with disability, to better address these unique risk profiles in order to prevent additional disability or secondary conditions. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.