Cycle helmet ownership in a birth cohort of children.

It is now widely accepted that cycle helmets are an effective means of reducing head injury in cycle accidents. However, there is a lack of research into the social factors associated with helmet ownership in childhood. This short report examines this issue using data from the Christchurch Child Development Study. In this study a birth cohort of 1265 children born in Christchurch in mid 1977 has been studied at annual intervals since birth. At the twelve year interview (n=1020) mothers were questioned about the survey child's cycling experience and cycle helmet ownership.