The association between wind speed and the risk of injuries among preschool children: New insight from a sentinel-surveillance-based study

Background: Injuries among preschool children are an important public health concern worldwide. Significant gaps remain in understanding the potential impact of wind speed on injuries among preschoolers. We aimed to clarify the association and its variation across subgroups to capture the vulnerability features.

Methods: Using a case-crossover design and conditional logistic regression model, we compared the exposure to wind speed right before the injury events (case period) with that of control periods to determine the excess rate (ER) of injury on each of 0-3 lag days in Guangzhou, 2016-2020. Results were also stratified by sociodemographic characteristics of patients, basic characteristics of injury events, and clinical features of injuries to identify the most vulnerable subgroups of preschoolers.

Results: Higher wind speed was significantly associated with an increased risk of injuries among preschoolers on lag 0, reaching an ER of 2.93 % (95 % confidence interval [CI] = 0.87, 5.03), but not on other lag days. The results of the stratified analyses showed that children under 3-year-old (3.41 %; 95 % CI = 0.36, 6.55), boys (3.66 %; 95 % CI = 1.04, 6.35), and non-locally registered children (3.65; 95 % CI = 0.02, 7.40) were more prone to wind-related injuries. Falls (2.67 %; 95 % CI = 0.11, 5.30) were the main cause of wind-related injuries, and taking transportation was the main activity when injuries occurred (13.16 %; 95 % CI = 4.45, 22.60). Additionally, injuries involving buildings/grounds/obstacles (4.69 %; 95 % CI = 1.66, 7.81) and the occurrence of sprain/strain (7.60 %; 95 % CI = 0.64, 15.04) showed a positive association with wind speed.

Conclusions: Higher wind speed was associated with a significantly elevated rate of injuries among preschoolers without delayed effects, where children under 3-year-old, boys, and non-locally registered subgroups were more susceptible to wind-related injuries. This study may provide new insights for refining the prevention measures against wind-related injuries among preschoolers.