Head Injury Center

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has released a statistics report about traumatic brain injury in the United States. The statistics explain for themselves that traumatic brain injury is a nationwide health epidemic spreading and increasing every year.

The report mentioned that around 1.7 million people in United States are suffering from traumatic brain injury every year.

The report is based on data collected from the year 2002 to 2006 and it states that 52,000 deaths occurred because of traumatic brain injuries and 275,000 people were hospitalized for TBI. Out of these, 1.4 million people were treated every year. The contribution of TBI to deaths from injury in the United States is 30.5% annually according to this report. Assaults are the reason behind 10% of head injuries out of which 2.9% occur in children less than 14 years of age and 1% in adults older than 65 years. Traumatic brain injury is mostly caused by a blow or a jolt to the head which disrupts the normal functioning of the brain.

Fall result to 35.2% of head injuries and are the leading cause. Falls normally injure children to the age of 4 and adults older than 75 years. Children up to the age of 4, 15 to 19, adolescents and adults older than 65 years are prone to suffer TBI. Injuries caused by road traffic and accidents accounts for 17.3% of TBI cases and are the second leading cause of head injuries. Males are affected by TBI more than females in all the age groups.

According to the report, a head injury ranges from mild to moderate and then to severe. The characteristics of a mild TBI are small changes in the state of mind or consciousness whereas the severe stage is characterized by unconsciousness that lasts for an extended span or amnesia. It also says that concussions are the majority of TBIs. Among the children up to the age of 14 years, TBI causes 2,174 deaths, 35,136 hospitalizations and 473,947 visit emergency departments annually. Adults over 75 years are highest rated for hospitalizations and deaths due to TBI.

The Report also states that TBI patients may have short-term as well as long-term consequences that have an effect on their power to think, percept, ability to communicate or express their feelings. Richard C. Hunt, MD, who is the director of the Division for injury response at CDC in Atlanta, said that TBI is a major health problem in US and the statistics are a significant finding that can definitely help to improve the strategies to prevent traumatic brain injuries.

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CDC Releases Latest Statistics on Traumatic Brain Injury