Facts about Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

  • What is a Traumatic Brain Injury?

    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 Traumatic Brain Injury?

    Of the 1.7 million who sustain a TBI each year in the United States*

    • 52,000 die;
    • 275,000 are hospitalized; and
    • 1.365 million are treated and released from an emergency department.

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

  • What causes Traumatic Brain Injury?

    The leading causes of TBI in the United States are:

    • Falls (28%);
    • Motor vehicle-traffic crashes (20%); and
    • Assaults (11%).
    • Blasts are a leading cause of TBI for active duty military personnel in war zones. It has been estimated that over 50% of all combat injuries are blast injuries.
  • Who is at highest risk for Traumatic Brain Injury?
    • 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 (combat deployment) increase the risk of sustaining a TBI
    • African Americans have the highest death rate from TBI.
  • What are the costs of Traumatic Brain Injury?

    Direct medical costs and indirect costs such as lost productivity of TBI totaled an estimated $56.3 billion in the United States in 1995.

  • What are the long-term consequences of Traumatic Brain Injury?

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that at least 3.17 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 for services one year after their injury. The most frequent unmet needs were

    • Improving memory and problem solving;
    • Managing stress and emotional upset
    • Controlling one's temper; and
    • 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.

    *(Information compiled from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)