Age as a Predictive Factor in Severity of Injuries in Riders of Electric Bikes and Powered Scooters: A Retrospective Cross-Sectional Study

The growth in worldwide popularity of electric bikes (E-bikes) and powered scooters (P-scooters) has been accompanied by an increase in injuries associated with their use. The aim of this study was to evaluate the contribution of rider age to injury severity, represented by need for hospitalization. A retrospective review of the database of a tertiary medical center yielded 1234 patients (75.7% male) who attended the emergency department (ED) in 2014–2020 for injuries sustained while riding an E-bike or P-scooter. Mean age was 31.52 ± 14.77 years: 23% were aged <20 years; 33%, 21–30 years; 23%, 31–40 years; 10%, 41–50 years; 11%, >51 years. Ninety patients (7.3%) were hospitalized. Older age was significantly associated with the need for hospitalization on univariate analysis (p <.001), but significance was not maintained on binary logistic regression (OR = 1.02, 95%CI 0.99–1.06; p = 0.11). Patients who underwent imaging evaluation in the ED were at lower risk of hospitalization, and patients who had surgery or a relatively long operative procedure were at higher risk of hospitalization. The study shows that older age (>51 years) is not associated with a significantly increased probability of severe injury in E-bike and P-scooter riders. This finding has important implications for insurers and healthcare administrators.