Emergency Visits
Hospitalizations
Deaths
Emergency Visits
According to the National Ambulatory Care Reporting System (NACRS), in 2020 in Simcoe Muskoka, there were nearly 1,200 emergency visits for cycling related injuries. The age-standardized rate for cycling injury emergency visits in Simcoe Muskoka for all ages and sexes in 2020 was 204.3 (192.7, 216.4) visits per 100,000 population, which was not significantly different from the Ontario rate of 195.6 (193.3, 197.9) visits per 100,000 population.
The cycling injury emergency visit rates increased in 2020 by 15% in Simcoe Muskoka and by nearly 33% in Ontario overall. The 2020 increase in Simcoe Muskoka was similar to the increase observed in 2019; however, the Ontario increase was considerably higher. In fact, the 2020 provincial rate was significantly higher than any previous year of available data.
There was a significantly downward trend in the cycling injury emergency visit rates in both Simcoe Muskoka and Ontario from 2003 to 2018, decreasing by approximately one per cent per year. The Simcoe Muskoka cycling injury emergency visit rates were above the provincial rate for each year over this period.
The age-standardized rate for cycling injury emergency visits in Simcoe Muskoka among males in 2020 was 282.4 (263.3, 302.5) visits per 100,000, which more than double the female rate of 123.8(111.3, 137.5) visits per 100,000.
The 2020 cycling injury emergency visit rate among Simcoe Muskoka males was not significantly different from the 2019; however, the 2020 rate among SImcoe Muskoka females was nearly 40% higher than 2019. There was a significant downward trend in the cycling injury emergency visit rates for Simcoe Muskoka males from 2003 to 2018 before increasing significantly in 2019; however, the trend for Simcoe Muskoka females remained flat from 2003 to 2019.
The age-specific rate for cycling injury emergency visits between 2016 and 2020 (combined) in Simcoe Muskoka was highest among children between the ages of 5 and 14 years at 487.6 (463.3, 512.9) visits per 100,000 populations. The age-specific Simcoe Muskoka rates were significantly higher than the provincial rates for children 5 to 14 years and young people between the ages of 15 and 24 years.
The 2020 cycling injury emergency visit rate among Simcoe Mjskoka youth (5 to 14) was not significantly different from 2019; however, the 2020 rate among Ontario youth (5 to 14) was more than 40% higher than 2019. The trend in the cycling injury emergency visit rates among children (5 to 14 years) in both Simcoe Muskoka and Ontario demonstrated a significant downward trend from 2003 to 2018, decreasing by more than four per cent per year over this period. The 2019 rates were significantly higher when compared with 2018 both locally and provincially; however, the increase was more pronounced among Simcoe Muskoka youth. The Simcoe Muskoka youth cycling injury emergency visit rate was significantly higher than the provincial rate since 2003. The significant decline in cycling injury emergency visit rate among children that occurred prior to 2019 can be largely attributed to the substantial drop among boys, with rates dropping by more than half.
For the time period from 2016 to 2020 (combined) in Simcoe Muskoka, emergency visits for cycling injuries were highest among those living in both areas with the highest and lowest material deprivation (as measured by the 2016 Ontario Marginalization Index). This pattern is different than most other causes of injury-related emergency visits.
Hospitalizations
In 2020 in Simcoe Muskoka, there were nearly 70 hospital admissions for cycling related injuries for an age-standardized rate of 11.4 (8.9, 14.6) admissions per 100,000 population, which similar to the Ontario rate of 11.3 (10.8, 11.9) admissions per 100,000 population.
The cycling injury hospitalization rates increased in 2020 by approximately 40% in both Simcoe Muskoka and Ontario overall. It is unclear why the increase in the cycling injury hospitalization rates were greater than the increase in emergency visits, particularly in Simcoe Muskoka. This difference might be attributed to changes in health care use and access during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly for injuries perceived to be less serious.
Between 2016 and 2022, Simcoe Muskoka children between the ages of 5 and 14 years had the highest rate of cycling injury related hospital admissions at 12.3 (8.7, 16.9) admissions per 100,000 population, which was not significantly different from the comparable provincial rate.
There was a substantial drop in the cycling injury related hospitalization rates among children (5 to 14 years) in Simcoe Muskoka, mainly due to the change observed among boys. Between 2003 and 2008 the cycling injury related hospitalization rate for boys between 5 and 14 years in Simcoe Muskoka was 48.7 (39.5, 59.4) admissions per 100,000 population; however, this drop to just 14.7 (8.0, 24.6) admissions per 100,000 for the time period from 2018 to 2020. The rates among Simcoe Muskoka girls has not changed significantly since 2003. The cycling hospitalization rates among Simcoe Muskoka boys and girls (5 to 14 years) were not significantly different from each other between 2018 and 2020, which is different than the pattern from previous years where the rate among boys were significantly higher.
Deaths
Over the 16-year period between 2000 and 2015, 17 Simcoe Muskoka residents died in cycling accidents, with 16 of the 17 decedents being male and 10 of the 17 deaths were as a result of a traffic collision with a car or truck. During the same 16-year time period, 389 cyclists died across Ontario, with nearly 9-in-10 decedents being male and approximately 50 per cent of deaths were as a result of a traffic collision with a car, truck or bus. The death data come from the Vital Statistics database for Ontario.