The dangers of dog walking

Elderly people were significantly more likely to experience a fracture while walking a dog in 2017 than they were in 2004, according to data from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

The estimated number of fractures associated with walking a leashed dog was 4,396 in 2017 among those aged 65 years and older, compared with 1,671 in 2004, which is a significant increase, Kevin Pirruccio of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, and his associates wrote in JAMA Surgery.

Over the entire study period, 2004-2017, almost 79% of all fractures occurred in women and 67% of all patients were treated in the emergency department and released. The most common injury was hip fracture (17.3%), although upper-extremity fractures were more common (52.1%) than those of the lower extremities (29.4%), trunk (10.1%), or head and neck (7.3%), the investigators reported.

“For older adults – especially those living alone and with decreased bone mineral density – the risks associated with walking leashed dogs merit consideration. Even one such injury could result in a potentially lethal hip fracture, lifelong complications, or loss of independence,” they wrote.

The retrospective, cross-sectional analysis involved the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s National Electronic Injury Surveillance System database, which includes approximately 100 hospital emergency departments. The investigators did not report any conflicts of interest.

[email protected]

SOURCE: Pirruccio K et al. JAMA Surg. 2019 Mar 6. doi: 10.1001/jamasurg.2019.0061.

Elderly people were significantly more likely to experience a fracture while walking a dog in 2017 than they were in 2004, according to data from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

The estimated number of fractures associated with walking a leashed dog was 4,396 in 2017 among those aged 65 years and older, compared with 1,671 in 2004, which is a significant increase, Kevin Pirruccio of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, and his associates wrote in JAMA Surgery.

Over the entire study period, 2004-2017, almost 79% of all fractures occurred in women and 67% of all patients were treated in the emergency department and released. The most common injury was hip fracture (17.3%), although upper-extremity fractures were more common (52.1%) than those of the lower extremities (29.4%), trunk (10.1%), or head and neck (7.3%), the investigators reported.

“For older adults – especially those living alone and with decreased bone mineral density – the risks associated with walking leashed dogs merit consideration. Even one such injury could result in a potentially lethal hip fracture, lifelong complications, or loss of independence,” they wrote.

The retrospective, cross-sectional analysis involved the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s National Electronic Injury Surveillance System database, which includes approximately 100 hospital emergency departments. The investigators did not report any conflicts of interest.

[email protected]

SOURCE: Pirruccio K et al. JAMA Surg. 2019 Mar 6. doi: 10.1001/jamasurg.2019.0061.

Elderly people were significantly more likely to experience a fracture while walking a dog in 2017 than they were in 2004, according to data from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

The estimated number of fractures associated with walking a leashed dog was 4,396 in 2017 among those aged 65 years and older, compared with 1,671 in 2004, which is a significant increase, Kevin Pirruccio of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, and his associates wrote in JAMA Surgery.

Over the entire study period, 2004-2017, almost 79% of all fractures occurred in women and 67% of all patients were treated in the emergency department and released. The most common injury was hip fracture (17.3%), although upper-extremity fractures were more common (52.1%) than those of the lower extremities (29.4%), trunk (10.1%), or head and neck (7.3%), the investigators reported.

“For older adults – especially those living alone and with decreased bone mineral density – the risks associated with walking leashed dogs merit consideration. Even one such injury could result in a potentially lethal hip fracture, lifelong complications, or loss of independence,” they wrote.

The retrospective, cross-sectional analysis involved the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s National Electronic Injury Surveillance System database, which includes approximately 100 hospital emergency departments. The investigators did not report any conflicts of interest.

[email protected]

SOURCE: Pirruccio K et al. JAMA Surg. 2019 Mar 6. doi: 10.1001/jamasurg.2019.0061.