TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY (TBI) IN SOUTH
CAROLINA
-
#1 Cause of Death for Persons Ages 1 to 44 Years
-
61,000 South Carolinians Have TBI-related
Disability
61,000 residents live with permanent disability due
to TBI after being discharged alive from hospitals with TBI. TBI
related disabilities include physical, cognitive, and behavioral
limitations. Imagine sitting in the end zone at the University of
South Carolina’s Williams-Brice Stadium or Clemson Memorial Stadium
for a football game. It would take 3 out of every 4 seats (76%)
to accommodate these TBI residents...
To illustrate the magnitude of death related to TBI
in South Carolina, in 2006, for ages 1 to 44 years, 598 persons died
from TBI. For the same ages and same year, 322 persons died from
cancer and 345 persons died from heart-related diseases.
Causes of TBI in South Carolina:
Each year in South Carolina:
-
Over 1,300 people will sustain a life long TBI
related disability
-
Approximately 1000 people of all ages die as a
result of TBI
-
TBI continues to rank as the number one cause of
death for people ages 1 to 44 years
-
Approximately 3,000 people with new TBI are
hospitalized and discharged alive from hospitals
-
12,000 people with new TBI are treated and released
from Emergency Departments (ED)
-
Societal willingness-to-pay (WTP) estimate
accounting for direct and indirect cost for SC is $3 billion
(Economists refer to WTP as intangibles. Example -
the value lost for an avid worker because of losing his/her
abilities to do the job)
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Data herein obtained in part from the Division of
Injury & Violence Prevention, S.C. Department of Health &
Environmental Control; Department of Biometry & Epidemiology,
Medical University of South Carolina; and Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention.
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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.
Of the 1.4 million who sustain a TBI each year in
the United States:
- 50,000 die;
- 235,000 are hospitalized; and
- 1.1 million are treated and released from an
emergency department.1
The number of people with
TBI who are not seen in an emergency department or who receive no
care is unknown.
The leading causes of TBI are:
- Falls (28%);
- Motor vehicle-traffic crashes (20%);
- Struck by/against (19%); and
- Assaults (11%).1
- Blasts are a leading cause of TBI for active
duty military personnel in war zones.2
- Males are about 1.5 times as likely as females
to sustain a TBI.1
- The two age groups at highest risk for TBI are
0 to 4 year olds and 15 to 19 year olds.1
- Certain military duties (e.g., paratrooper)
increase the risk of sustaining a TBI.3
- African Americans have the highest death rate
from TBI.1
Direct medical costs and indirect costs such as
lost productivity of TBI totaled an estimated $60 billion in the
United States in 1995.4
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.5
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 upsets;
- Controlling one's temper; and
- Improving one's job skills.6
TBI can cause a wide range of functional changes
affecting thinking, language, learning, emotions, behavior, and/or
sensation. 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.7,8
- Langlois JA, Rutland-Brown W,
Thomas KE. Traumatic brain injury in the United States:
emergency department visits, hospitalizations, and deaths. Atlanta
(GA): Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control;
2006.
- Defense and Veterans Brain
Injury Center (DVBIC). [unpublished]. Washington (DC): U.S.
Department of Defense; 2005.
- Ivins BJ, Schwab K, Warden D,
Harvey S, Hoilien M, Powell J, et al. Traumatic brain injury in
U.S. army
paratroopers: prevalence and character. Journal of Trauma Injury,
Infection and Critical Care 2003;55(4):
617-21.
- Finkelstein E, Corso P,
Miller T and associates. The Incidence and Economic Burden of
Injuries in the United States. New York: Oxford University Press,
2006.
- Thurman D, Alverson C, Dunn
K, Guerrero J, Sniezek J. Traumatic brain injury in the United
States: a public
health perspective. Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation
1999;14(6):602-15.
- Corrigan JD, Whiteneck G,
Mellick D. Perceived needs following traumatic brain injury.
Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation 2004;19(3):205-16.
- National Institute of
Neurological Disorders and Stroke. Traumatic brain injury: hope
through research.
Bethesda (MD): National Institutes of Health; 2002 Feb. NIH
Publication No. 02-158. Available from:
www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/tbi/detail_tbi.htm.
- Ylvisaker M, Todis B, Glang
A, et al. Educating students with TBI: themes and recommendations.
Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation 2001; 16:76-93.
Remember: Brain Injury is the
“Silent Epidemic”,
but you and I
can give it a voice!
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The Brain Injury Alliance of
South Carolina
800 Dutch Square Blvd. Suite B-225 Columbia, SC 29210
Mailing Address: P. O. Box 21523 Columbia, SC 29221-1523
Phone: 803-731-9823 Toll Free: 1-877-TBI-FACT (in-state)
Fax: 803-731-4804
E-mail:
scbraininjury@bellsouth.net
