According to the CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention), each year, a traumatic brain injury (TBI) contributes to a substantial number of deaths and cases of permanent disability. A TBI is caused by a bump, blow or jolt to the head or a penetrating head injury that disrupts the normal function of the brain. The severity of a TBI may range from “mild” to “severe”.

Data are critical to understanding the impact of this important public health problem. This information can help inform TBI prevention strategies, identify research and education priorities, and support the need for services among those living with a TBI.

National TBI Estimates

Each year, an estimated 1.7 million people sustain a TBI annually.1 Of them:

• 52,000 die
• 275,000 are hospitalized, and
• 1.365 million, nearly 80%, are treated and released from an emergency department.

TBI is a contributing factor to a third (30.5%) of all injury-related deaths in the United States.1 About 75% of TBIs that occur each year are concussions or other forms of mild TBI.2 *The number of people with TBI who are not seen in an emergency department or who receive no care is unknown.

• Learn about the leading causes of TBI.
• For additional tables, figures and information about TBI in the United States, see the full report Traumatic Brain Injury in the United States: Emergency Department Visits, Hospitalizations and Deaths 2002 – 2006.

TBI by Age 1
• Children aged 0 to 4 years, older adolescents aged 15 to 19 years, and adults aged 65 years and older are most likely to sustain a TBI.
• Almost half a million (473,947) emergency department visits for TBI are made annually by children aged 0 to 14 years.
• Adults aged 75 years and older have the highest rates of TBI-related hospitalization and death.

TBI by Gender 1
• In every age group, TBI rates are higher for males than for females.
• Males aged 0 to 4 years have the highest rates of TBI-related emergency department visits, hospitalizations, and deaths.

TBI Estimates by State
CDC currently funds 30 states to conduct basic TBI surveillance through the CORE state Injury Program.
To find TBI-related death and hospitalization data by participating CORE states, see State Injury Indicators Web-based Query System. (http://www.cdc.gov/injury/wisqars/index.html) Note: Not all states participate in the submission of TBI- and other injury-related data compiled in this report.)

Costs of TBI
Direct medical costs and indirect costs such as lost productivity of TBI totaled an estimated $60 billion in the United States in 2000.

References
1. Faul M, Xu L, Wald MM, Coronado VG. Traumatic brain injury in the United States: emergency department visits, hospitalizations, and deaths. Atlanta (GA): Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control; 2010.
2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. Report to Congress on mild traumatic brain injury in the United States: steps to prevent a serious public health problem. Atlanta (GA): Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 2003.
3. Finkelstein E, Corso P, Miller T and associates. The Incidence and Economic Burden of Injuries in the United States. New York (NY): Oxford University Press; 2006.

Med League provides medical expert witnesses to trial lawyers. Please call us at (908)788-8227 or contact us today to discuss your next case.