Epidemiology and Prevalence of Musculoskeletal Disabilities Following Motor Vehicle Accidents in Aljouf Region, Saudi Arabia

Background and Objectives: Motor vehicle accidents (MVAs) are the leading cause of disability,
particularly among young adults in Saudi Arabia. Persistent disabilities account for around 7%
of all injuries attributed to MVAs in Saudi Arabia in the last twenty years. Limited studies on
musculoskeletal disabilities following MVAs have been carried out in Saudi Arabia. This study
aims to explore the epidemiology and prevalence of musculoskeletal disabilities in motor vehicle
accident (MVA) patients in the Aljouf region, Saudi Arabia. Materials and Methods: This retrospective
cross-sectional study evaluated all MVA victims treated in the Aljouf region, Saudi Arabia, from
January 2020 to December 2022. A total of 3252 medical records were collected, with 731, 1197, and
1324 musculoskeletal injury cases per year, of which 88, 168, and 153 records from 2020, 2021, and
2022 were analysed, respectively. Results: The study found that patients aged 25–34 and 35–44 years
were the most likely to experience disability following MVAs. The difference between age groups
during a single year was statistically significant (p < 0.001). Most patients were male (89.8%, 82.7%,
and 79.7%) during 2020, 2021, and 2022, respectively. The majority of injuries involved the upper
extremities (38.6%, 36.9%, and 40.5%), followed by lower extremities (36.4%, 35.7%, and 34.6%),
head and neck (21.6%, 26.2%, and 34.6%), thoracic region (20.5%, 24.4%, and 17%), and finally
lumbosacral spine (6.8%, 5.4%, and 6.5%) during 2020, 2021, and 2022, respectively, with a significant
difference for each year (p < 0.001). The study found a link between the likelihood of developing
high disability grades and injury severity scores. The patients with very severe ISS ≥ 25 (OR: ∞
CI 95%: 39.81–∞; p < 0.001), severe ISS = 16–24 (OR: ∞ CI 95%: 20.90–∞; p < 0.001), and moderate
ISS = 9–15 (OR: ∞ CI 95%: 1.2–∞; p = 0.02) were at greater risk of developing high grades of disability.
Conclusions: This study highlighted the musculoskeletal disabilities in the Aljouf region following
MVAs. Severe musculoskeletal disabilities were rare, but fractures were the most common following MVAs. More efforts should be directed towards education on early transportation and transfer
to the nearest medical centres, seeking assistance immediately after MVAs for patient safety, and
disability prevention.