• Jaroslaw Amarowicz, Anna Kumorek, and Kamila Boczon.
• Department of Bone and Joint Diseases, Faculty of Health Sciences, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Krakow, Poland. Electronic address: jaroslaw.amarowicz@uj.edu.pl.
• Wilderness Environ Med. 2019 Dec 1; 30 (4): 378-385.

IntroductionBecause of the growing popularity of mountain tourism, the number of injuries related to mountain activities has increased rapidly. The regional volunteer search and rescue team (Tatra mountain rescue team [MRT], Poland) anticipates future increases in injuries and accidents.MethodsAn analysis was performed on Tatra MRT incident reports for the years 2012 through 2013. These reports include information on the mechanism of injury, weather conditions, and demographic data of the injured tourists. The data were provided by the operation supervisor of each search and rescue mission. The study group consisted of 844 reports (median age 37 y, range 18-90 y). The analysis was designed to determine whether features such as age and sex of the injured tourist were correlated to the injury mechanisms (as identified by the rescuers) or their National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics-International Committee for Alpine Rescue (NACA ICAR) score.ResultsOur study of the Tatra MRT data revealed that age and sex are risk factors for the rate and severity of injuries in the mountain environment. Injured men were more likely to require resource-intensive search and rescue missions and usually had a worse NACA ICAR score (P=0.041). The age analysis showed that older people are more likely to sustain a serious injury (3-7 NACA ICAR score). However, the most common rescue scenario involved younger males (20-40 y) at a higher altitude (>1500 m, P<0.001).ConclusionsSex and age are associated with the mechanisms and severity of injuries in the mountain environment. They should be considered in the development of appropriate prevention and response programs. Further studies are needed to confirm the results.Copyright © 2019 Marketing EDGE.org. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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