Epidemiology and societal impact of traumatic brain injury

Abstract

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of death and disability in the United States. The most recent statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention document that an estimated 1.7 million people sustain a TBI annually. Nearly 80 % of these individuals will be treated in the ER and released, and a significant majority of these injuries are esti- mated to be of mild severity. Falls and motor vehicle accidents are the two most common causes of injury with males showing greater rates of TBI than females. Additional risk factors for TBI include age, socioeconomic status, race/ethnicity, and previous injury history. TBI results in significant economic burden to the individual and society and can have long-lasting and devastating effects on an individual's ability to return to family, social, and occupational roles. This chapter will review the epidemiology and societal impact of TBI with particular focus on the epidemiology of TBI in the general population, in the military, and in sports-related events.