Keywords

closed head injury, craniocerebral trauma, epidemiology, traumatic brain injury

Authors

1. Rutland-Brown, Wesley MPH
2. Langlois, Jean A. ScD, MPH
3. Thomas, Karen E. MPH
4. Xi, Yongli Lily MS

Abstract

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is an important public health problem in the United States. In 2003, there were an estimated 1,565,000 TBIs in the United States: 1,224,000 emergency department visits, 290,000 hospitalizations, and 51,000 deaths. Findings were similar to those from previous years in which rates of TBI were highest for young children (aged 0-4) and men, and the leading causes of TBI were falls and motor vehicle traffic.