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According to the CDC, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is a leading cause of death and disability among children and young adults in the United States. Each year, an estimated 1.5 million Americans sustain a TBI. As a consequence of
these injuries:
- 230,000 people are hospitalized and survive.
- 50,000 people die.
- 80,000 to 90,000 people experience the onset of long-term disability.
As the cumulative result of past traumatic brain injuries, an estimated 5.3 million men, women, and children are living with a permanent TBI-related disability in the United States today. While the risk of having a TBI is substantial among all age groups, this risk is highest among adolescents, young adults, and persons 75 and older. The risk of TBI among males is twice that of females.
The major causes of TBI are:
- Motor vehicle crashes–the leading cause of TBI resulting in hospitalization.
- Violence, especially suicidal behavior, and assaults that involve firearms–the leading cause of TBI-related death.
- Falls–the leading cause of TBI among the elderly.
All these injuries have both short-term and long-term effects on individuals, their families, and society, and their financial cost is enormous. According to one study completed in 1985, the annual economic burden in the United States was approximately $37.8 billion.
For the estimated 5.3 million Americans who live with a TBI-related disability, the financial cost is only part of the burden. The long-term impairments and disabilities associated with TBI are grave and the full human cost is incalculable.
Yet because these disabilities are not readily apparent to the public–unlike a broken leg, for example–TBI is referred to as the invisible epidemic. These disabilities, arising from cognitive, emotional, sensory, and motor impairments, often permanently alter a person’s vocational aspirations and have profound effects on social and family relationships.
