TOPLINE:

In Finland, nearly 31.4% of adolescents reported one or more injuries during leisure time or at home, with sport-related injuries being the most common. Adolescents with severe anxiety faced higher odds of injury, whereas those with no close friends showed lower odds.

METHODOLOGY:

• Researchers analysed data from 383,550 Finnish adolescents in eighth and ninth grades collected through cross-sectional surveys from 2013 to 2021.
• They focused on self-reported injuries during leisure time and at home, which included injuries during the use of motor vehicle, sports, and home activities, excluding injuries on the way to and from school.
• Bronfenbrenner's bioecological model and the KINDL-R health-related quality of life measurement were used as frameworks, focusing on physical health, emotional well-being, friends, family, and school.
• Associations between injuries and variables, such as anxiety and substance use, were assessed.

TAKEAWAY:

• Nearly 31.4% of respondents reported one or more injuries during leisure time or at home, with sport-related injuries being the most common injury that required medical attention (19.8%). Boys were more likely to experience injuries than girls (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.13; 95% CI, 1.10-1.16).
• Adolescents with severe anxiety had a higher likelihood of injury than those with low levels of anxiety (aOR, 1.70; 95% CI, 1.61-1.80). Also, those who had tried or used drugs had increased odds of injuries (aOR, 1.24; 95% CI, 1.21-1.28).
• Foreign-born adolescents had higher odds of injuries than Finnish-born peers (aOR, 1.27; 95% CI, 1.18-1.37). Adolescents with no close friends had lower odds of injuries than those with one or more close friends (aOR, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.76-0.84).
• Lower odds of injury were noted among those who disliked school, had poor health, or rarely communicated with their parents regarding things that concerned them.

IN PRACTICE:

"This article focused on home and leisure injuries among 14- to 16-year-olds in Finland. Data from injuries in other environments and among other age groups, as well as on potentially significant experiences such as violence, would elucidate the complex factors behind injuries further," the authors of the study wrote.

SOURCE:

This study was led by Ulla Korpilahti, Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland. It was published online on November 16, 2025, in the European Journal of Public Health.

LIMITATIONS: 

Data from respondents in 2015 were missing due to technical issues with online data collection. The placement of injury-related questions at the end of the survey may have caused incomplete responses due to respondent fatigue. The number of respondents with a foreign background was small, and some students were not in school when the data were collected.

DISCLOSURES:

This study did not receive any specific funding. No relevant conflicts of interest were disclosed by the authors.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.