|
|
The Costs and Causes
of
Traumatic Brain Injury |
EVERY 15 SECONDS, ONE PERSON
IN
THE U.S. SUSTAINS A BRAIN INJURY The mission
of the Brain Injury Association is to create a better future through brain injury prevention, research, education and advocacy.
DEFINITION
Traumatic brain injury (TBI): is an insult to the brain,
not of degenerative or congenital nature caused by an external physical force that may produce a diminished or altered state
of consciousness, which results in an impairment of cognitive abilities or physical functioning. It can also result in the
disturbance of behavioral or emotional functioning.
Acquired brain injury (ABI): injury to the brain which
is not hereditary, congenital or degenerative.
SCOPE
An estimated 5.3 million Americans—a little more than 2% of the U.S. population—currently live with disabilities
resulting from brain injury.1
It is estimated that one million people are treated for TBI and released from
hospital emergency rooms every year.
Each year, 80,000 Americans experience the onset of long-term disability following
TBI.
More than 50,000 people die every year as a result of TBI.
Vehicle crashes are the leading cause of brain injury. They account for 50% of
all TBIs.
Falls are the second leading cause, and the leading cause of brain injury in the
elderly. The risk of TBI is highest among adolescents, young adults and those older than 75. After one brain injury, the risk for a second injury is three times greater; after the second injury, the risk for
a third injury is eight times greater.
THE COST
The
cost of traumatic brain injury in the United States is estimated to be $48.3 billion annually. Hospitalization accounts
for $31.7 billion, and fatal brain injuries cost the nation $16.6 billion each year.
CONSEQUENCES
Brain
injury can affect a person cognitively, physically and emotionally.
Cognitive consequences can include:
Short term memory loss; long term memory loss Slowed ability to process information trouble concentrating or paying attention for periods of time difficulty keeping up
with a conversation; other communication difficulties such as word finding problems spatial disorientation organizational
problems and impaired judgement unable to do more than one thing at a time
Physical consequences can include: Seizures of all types muscle spasticity double
vision or low vision, even blindness Loss of smell or taste speech impairments such as slow or slurred speech; headaches
or migraines fatigue, increased need for sleep; balance problems
Emotional consequences can include:a lack of initiating activities, or once started, difficulty in completing tasks
without reminders increased anxiety depression
and mood swings denial of deficits impulsive behavior more easily agitated egocentric behaviors; difficulty seeing how behaviors
can affect others
References
1 Guerrero JL, Leadbetter S, Thurman DJ, Whiteneck G and Sniezek JE. A method for estimating the prevalence
of disability from traumatic brain injury, in press. National
Center for Health Statistics. Described in Guerrero JL, Thurman DL and Sniezek JE. Emergency department visits associated
with traumatic brain injury—United States, 1995-1996, in press. 3 Guerrero JL, Leadbetter S, Thurman DJ, Whiteneck
G and Sniezek JE. A method for estimating the prevalence of disability from traumatic brain injury, in press. 4
Unpublished data from Multiple Cause of Death Public Use Data from the National Center for Health Statistics, 1996. 5 Krause
J, Sorenson S. Epidemiology. In J Silver, S Yudofsky, R Hales (eds.). Neuropsychiatry of Traumatic Brain Injury. Washington,
DC: American Psychiatric Press, Inc., 1994. 6 Analysis by the CDC National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, using
data obtained from state health departments in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, New York,
Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina and Utah. 7 Annegers JF, Garbow JD, Kurtland LT et al. The Incidence, Causes and Secular
Trends of Head Trauma in Olstead County, Minnesota 1935- 1974. Neurology. 1980; 30:912-919.
Special Report
CDC
Report Shows Prevalence of Brain Injury
April 14, 1999
ATLANTA (CNN) – An estimated 5.3 million Americans, a little more than 2 percent of the U.S. population,
currently live with disabilities from traumatic brain injuries, according a to a new report by the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention.
Each year, approximately 80,000 Americans experience the onset of disabilities resulting from brain injuries,
the report says. The data released in the CDC study is considered the most complete picture of the impact of traumatic brain
injuries (TBIs) in the United States. The National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, a division of the CDC and the
Brain Injury Association, plans to use the data to assess the availability of proper medical, social and support services
across the country.
Other TBI statistics reported by the CDC indicated that each year, 1 million people are treated and released
in hospital emergency rooms, and 50,000 people die.
The three leading causes of TBI are motor vehicle crashes, violence – mostly from firearms –
and falls, particularly among the elderly. The risk of TBI in men is twice the risk in women. The risk is higher in adolescents,
young adults and people older than 75 years. The report was prepared for a meeting this week of 40 experts to discuss public
health implications of TBIs. It was presented at a press conference sponsored by the Brain Injury Association of Georgia.
According to the Brain Injury Association (BIA), a TBI takes place when an external physical force hits the brain, producing
a diminished or altered state of consciousness. It results in impaired cognitive abilities or physical functioning, and sometimes
disturbs behavioral or emotional functioning.
TBI can affect a person cognitively, physically and emotionally. A person might experience memory loss,
lack of concentration, slowed ability to process information, seizures, double vision or even loss of vision, headaches or
migraines, loss of smell or taste, speech impairments, anxiety, impulsive behavior, depression and mood swings. BIA estimates
hospital and fatal injury costs relating to TBI in the United States exceed $48 billion annually.
Additionally:
- Each year, 230,000 persons
are hospitalized with TBI and survive
- 22% of persons with TBI
die
- 2/3 of firearm-related
TBIs are classified as suicidal in intent
- Falls are the leading cause
of TBI for persons age 65 and older; transportation-related injuries lead among the 5-64 population
- 91% of firearm-related
TBIs result in death
- 11% of fall-related TBIs
proved fatal
