What is Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)?

A traumatic brain injury (TBI) is defined as a blow or jolt to the head or a penetrating head injury that disrupts the function of the brain. Not all blows or jolts to the head result in a TBI. The severity of such an injury may range from "mild," i.e., a brief change in mental status or consciousness to "severe," i.e., an extended period of unconsciousness or amnesia after the injury. A TBI can result in short or long-term problems with independent function.

How many people have TBI?

National Statistics

• Every 23 Seconds, one person in the U.S. sustains a Traumatic Brain Injury
• 2 million are injured each year
• 1.1 million are treated and released from an emergency department
• 235,000 per year are hospitalized
• 50,000 per year die with TBI
• 80,000 per year result in long term disability
• 5.3 million Americans are living with TBI
• Among children ages 0 to 14 years, TBI results in an estimated:
  • 2,685 deaths;
  • 37,000 hospitalizations; and
  • 435,000 emergency department visits annually.

The number of people with TBI who are not seen in an emergency department or who receive no care is unknown.

Vermont Statistics (2005)

• Population of Vermont: 606,000
• 8,000 Vermonters are currently living with a TBI
• 2,619 Emergency Room Visits per year
• 400 Vermonters are injured each year
• 100 Vermonters sustain a moderate to severe brain injury each year
• Motor Vehicle Accidents are the #1 cause of brain injury
• Substances involved in 63% of injuries
• 70% are males
• 70% of individuals are discharged to home with little if no support
  

What are the leading causes of TBI?

• Falls (28%)
• Motor vehicle-traffic crashes (20%)
• Struck by/against events (19%)
• Assaults (11%)
• Blasts are a leading cause of TBI for active duty military personnel in war zones.

Who is at highest risk for TBI?

• Males are about 1.5 times as likely as females to sustain a TBI.
• The two age groups at highest risk for TBI are 0 to 4 year olds and 15 to 19 year olds.
• Certain military duties (e.g., paratrooper) increase the risk of sustaining a TBI.
• African Americans have the highest death rate from TBI.
  

What are the 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.

What are the long-term consequences of TBI?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that at least 5.3 million Americans currently have a long-term or lifelong need for help to perform activities of daily living as a result of a TBI. According to one study, about 40% of those hospitalized with a TBI had at least one unmet need forservices one year after their injury. The most frequent unmet needs were:

• Improving memory and problem solving
• Managing stress and emotional upsets
• Controlling one's temper
• Improving one's job skills
  

TBI can cause a wide range of functional changes affecting thinking, sensation, language, and/or emotions. It can also cause epilepsy and increase the risk for conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and other brain disorders that become more prevalent with age.

For more information on brain injury call our Toll-Free Helpline: 1-877-856-1772

References

1. Langlois JA, Rutland-Brown W, Thomas KE. 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; 2006.
2. Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center (DVBIC). [unpublished]. Washington (DC): U.S. Department of Defense; 2005.
3. Ivins BJ, Schwab K, Warden D, Harvey S, Hoilien M, Powell J, et al. Traumatic brain injury in U.S. army
   paratroopers: prevalence and character. Journal of Trauma Injury, Infection and Critical Care 2003;55(4):
   617-21.
4. Finkelstein E, Corso P, Miller T and associates. The Incidence and Economic Burden of Injuries in the United States. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006.
5. Thurman D, Alverson C, Dunn K, Guerrero J, Sniezek J. Traumatic brain injury in the United States: a public
   health perspective. Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation 1999;14(6):602-15.
6. Corrigan JD, Whiteneck G, Mellick D. Perceived needs following traumatic brain injury. Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation 2004;19(3):205-16.
7. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. Traumatic brain injury: hope through research.
   Bethesda (MD): National Institutes of Health; 2002 Feb. NIH Publication No. 02-158. Available from: www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/tbi/detail_tbi.htm.
8. Ylvisaker M, Todis B, Glang A, et al. Educating students with TBI: themes and recommendations.
   Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation 2001; 16:76-93.

Collaborating Organizations

Brain Injury Association of America
www.biausa.org
800-444-6443

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
www.cdc.gov
800-311-3435

Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center
www.dvbic.org
800-870-9244

Health Resources and Services Administration
www.hrsa.gov
301-443-3376

National Association of State Head Injury Administrators
www.nashia.org
301-656-3500

National Brain Injury Research Treatment and Training Foundation
www.nbirtt.org
434-220-4824

National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research, NICHD, NIH
www.nichd.nih.gov/about/ncmrr
800-370-2943

National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research
www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/osers/nidrr
202-245-7640

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, NIH
www.ninds.nih.gov
800-352-9424

North American Brain Injury Society
www.nabis.org
703-960-6500

Social Security Administration
www.ssa.gov
800-772-1213

 

 State of Vermont Traumatic Brain Injury Program
http://ddas.vermont.gov/ddas-programs/tbi/programs-tbi-default-page
(802) 241-1456