# Presentation: 219456

## Traumatic Brain Injury in the United States

**Emergency Department Visits, Hospitalizations, and Deaths**
**1995–2001**
- National Center for Injury Prevention and Control
- Division of Injury and Disability Outcomes
- and Programs
**January 2005**

## Findings from—
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; 2004.

- 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; 2004.

**Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)**
** ****in the United States**

## TBI in the United StatesBackground

- TBI is an important public health problem in the United States
- Population-based TBI data are needed to understand the impact of TBI in the United States.

## TBI in the United StatesMethods

- 	This presentation summarizes national data for the years 1995-2001, and includes:
- Emergency department (ED) visits
- Hospitalizations
- Deaths

## 	
Emergency Department Data
National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS)
Hospitalization Data
National Hospital Discharge Survey (NHDS)
Death Data
Multiple cause-of-death data

- Emergency Department Data
- National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS)
- Hospitalization Data
- National Hospital Discharge Survey (NHDS)
- Death Data
- Multiple cause-of-death data

- TBI in the United StatesMethods – Data Sources

- Data were obtained from the National Center for
- Health Statistics (NCHS):

## CDC uses International Classification of Diseases (ICD) codes to identify TBI cases.

The definition of TBI can be found on pages 41-43 of the report.

- The definition of TBI can be found on pages 41-43 of the report.

- TBI in the United StatesMethods – Case Definition

## TBI in the United States

- 50,000
- Deaths

- 235,000
- Hospitalizations

- 1,111,000
- Emergency Department Visits

- ??? Receiving Other Medical Care or No Care

- At least
- 1.4 million
- TBIs occur in the United States
- each year.*

- *  Average annual numbers, 1995-2001

**Notes:**
From 1995 to 2001, an average of 1.4 million TBIs occurred in the United States each year.  Of them, most (79.6%) were ED visits, followed by hospitalizations (16.8%) and deaths (3.6%).

## TBI in the United States

- TBIs by Sex*

- *  Average annual rates, 1995-2001; ED visits, hospitalizations, and deaths combined

**Notes:**
*Rates are for age group and sex per 100,000 persons*
In almost every age group, TBI rates are higher for males than females.

## On average each year, 835,000 TBIs occurred among males compared with 561,000 among females.

Overall, TBIs occurred about 1.5 times as often among males than females.

- Overall, TBIs occurred about 1.5 times as often among males than females.

- TBI in the United StatesTBIs by Sex

## TBI in the United StatesTBIs by Cause*

- *  Average annual percents, 1995-2001; ED visits, hospitalizations, and deaths combined

**Notes:**
Falls were the leading cause of traumatic brain injury (28%), followed by motor vehicle-traffic (20%) and assaults (11%). 

## On average, each year in the United States there were: 
398,000 fall-related TBIs -- the greatest number of TBI-related ED visits
280,000 motor vehicle-traffic TBIs -- the greatest number of TBI-related hospitalizations and deaths
156,000 assault-related TBIs

**398,000** fall-related TBIs -- the greatest number of TBI-related ED visits
**280,000** motor vehicle-traffic TBIs -- the greatest number of TBI-related hospitalizations and deaths
**156,000** assault-related TBIs

- TBI in the United StatesTBIs by Cause

## TBI in the United States

- TBIs by Cause*

- *  Average annual rates, 1995-2001; ED visits, hospitalizations, and deaths combined

**Notes:**
*Rates are by age group and cause per 100,000 persons.*
Falls are the leading cause of TBI; rates are highest among those ages 0 to 4 and those age 75 and older.

## TBI in the United States

- TBIs by Age Group*

- *  Average annual rates, 1995-2001

**Notes:**
*Rates are per 100,000 persons*
Children, older adolescents, and adults ages 75 years and older are more likely than others to sustain a TBI. 

## Each year an average of 475,000 TBIs occurred among children.

Most children who sustained a TBI (91.5%) were treated and released from the emergency department.

- Most children who sustained a TBI (91.5%) were treated and released from the emergency department.

- TBI in the United StatesChildren (0-14 years)

## TBI in the United StatesTBIs Among Children (0-14 years) by Cause

-   *  Average annual percents, 1995-2001; ED visits, hospitalizations, and deaths combined

**Notes:**
The rate of fall-related TBI was highest of any age group among children from 0 to 4 years.

## Each year an average of 155,000 TBIs occurred among older adults. 

Only about half the older adults (53.6%) who sustained a TBI were treated and released from the emergency department.

- Only about half the older adults (53.6%) who sustained a TBI were treated and released from the emergency department.

- TBI in the United StatesOlder Adults (_>_ 65 years)

## TBI in the United StatesTBIs Among Older Adults (>65 years) by Cause

-  *  Average annual percents, 1995-2001; ED visits, hospitalizations, and deaths combined

**Notes:**
The rate of fall-related TBI was particularly high among those aged 75 years and older.

## TBI in the United States Conclusions

- An estimated 1.4 million people sustain a TBI annually;  of these:
- 50,000 die
- 235,000 are hospitalized
- 1.1 million are treated and released from an ED
- The number reported with TBI underestimates the magnitude of the problem because the following are not included:
- TBIs treated by private physicians
- Individuals who did not seek medical care

## TBI in the United StatesFor More Information

- Visit the CDC website for this publication, Traumatic Brain Injury in the United States:  Emergency Department Visits, Hospitalizations, and Deaths, at:
-     www.cdc.gov/ncipc/pub-res/TBI_in_US_04/TBI_ED.htm
- E-mail the CDC at dardinfo@cdc.gov