New Traumatic Brain Injury Data from the CDC
Posted by: Michael Neff
March 28, 2010
Topic: Traumatic Brain Injury
Traumatic brain injuries, or TBI, are an important and serious public health problem. This is a fact we can all agree on. Discussions of the long term affects of TBI, including the personal costs and struggles of those afflicted, their family members, and society, are not new to the MLN Law blog. But how common are TBIs? How severe are they, on average? Who is at the most risk? How many people die of traumatic brain injury every year?
What is the cost of TBI on a larger scale, and how can we apply that information to preventing and treating people who suffer from them?
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) offer a great deal of useful information on TBI, much of it based on data compiled between 2002-2006. The answers to many of these natural questions can be found on their site, along with a great deal of other statistics which can help us track and better understand the place of TBI in our society.
According to the CDC's information, around 1.7 million people sustain TBIs every year, with TBI defined as any injury to head which "disrupts the normal function of the brain." The CDC points out that not all blows to the head do result in TBI, and that the severity of the injury can range from a mild concussion resulting in a brief change of consciousness or brain status, to severe injury with tragic results.
A severe brain injury may result in prolonged unconsciousness or amnesia.
Fortunately, about 75 percent of the yearly TBIs are relatively mild. However, as we have seen before, repeated minor TBIs over the course of weeks or months can have a cumulative effect on the brain, which sometimes results in tragedy. Understanding this, and not trying to rush back to work or athletic activities is an important part of treating even these mild TBIs.
Of the more serious TBIs, the CDC reports that:
· 52,000 people die a year.
· 275,000 people are hospitalized.
· Nearly 80 percent of the 1.7 million TBI cases a year, over 1.3 million, are released from an emergency treatment department.
· TBI is a cause in almost a third - 30.5 percent - of all injury related deaths in the United States.
· Males between the ages of 0 - 4 had the highest rates of TBI and TBI related deaths.
· Males were more likely than females to suffer from TBI in all age groups.
· Young children 0-4, older adolescents, and the elderly were the most at risk age groups in relation to TBI.
The estimated costs of TBI in the United States, including direct and indirect costs, total around $60 billion. While this estimate alone might be shocking, it cannot include the unseen tolls taken by the sometimes permanent long term effects of TBI, including difficulties with memory, thinking, processing sensations, and emotional changes such as depression and anxiety.
The report itself is available to download on the CDC website.
If you or a loved one has suffered a traumatic brain injury, and need legal advice, contact an experienced Atlanta, Georgia brain injury lawyer. Call MLN Law at 404-531-9700 to schedule a free consultation.
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