With Air Bags, Height Makes a Difference
Short and tall people alike face higher risk of harm

(HealthDay News) -- For years now, parents have been urged to make their children ride in the back seat to avoid harm should an air bag deploy. But now it seems that air bags pose risks for short people generally -- not just kids -- and tall people, too.

Researchers "found that small stature and large stature people, male and female, were at risk for injury from an air bag as opposed to having a protective benefit," Dr. Craig Newgard, an assistant professor of emergency medicine and public health and preventive medicine at Oregon Health & Science University , told HealthDay .

Newgard and his colleagues analyzed more than 11 years of data on both older air bags and newer "smart" air bags designed to control the force of deployment based on a person's weight. The data covered incidents involving 67,284 drivers and front-seat passengers involved in car crashes. The study did not differentiate between incidents involving older and newer air bags.

Air bags were found to be effective for people of medium height -- from 5 feet 3 inches tall to 5 feet 11 inches tall -- but actually posed a threat to people shorter than 4 feet 11 inches and those taller than 6 feet 3 inches. Body weight was not a factor in injury risk.

"If you are of short stature or tall stature, you may be putting yourself at risk for injury by riding in the front seat of a vehicle that has an air bag," Newgard said. "Right now, there is no federal safety guideline regarding the occupant size for adults and air bags."

The findings were presented at an annual meeting of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine.

One expert, however, said the study findings might not be conclusive, especially in terms of tall people.

That's because it didn't separate data between the old air bags and the newer "smart" air bags, Toben Nelson, an assistant professor of epidemiology at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, told HealthDay .

"There should be enough data to look at revised air bag design to see if that has made a difference," he said.

Nelson also said that the conclusion about tall people may be "an artifact of not having many people of taller stature to see significant findings." He said most studies have been done on kids and shorter people. "There needs to be more evidence on tall people," he said.

On the Web

To learn more about air bags, visit the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

SOURCES: HealthDay News ; Craig Newgard, M.D., assistant professor of emergency medicine and public health and preventive medicine, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Ore.; Toben Nelson, D.Sc., assistant professor of epidemiology, University of Minnesota School of Public Health, Minneapolis; presentation, Society for Academic Emergency Medicine annual meeting, Chicago, May 2007
Author: Robert Preidt
Publication Date: May 31, 2008
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