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. 2019 Nov 22;68(46):1050-1056.
doi: 10.15585/mmwr.mm6846a2.

Traumatic Brain Injury-Related Deaths by Race/Ethnicity, Sex, Intent, and Mechanism of Injury - United States, 2000-2017

Jill Daugherty  1 , Dana Waltzman  1 , Kelly Sarmiento  1 , Likang Xu  1
Affiliations

Traumatic Brain Injury-Related Deaths by Race/Ethnicity, Sex, Intent, and Mechanism of Injury - United States, 2000-2017

Jill Daugherty et al. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. .

Abstract

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) affects the lives of millions of Americans each year (1). To describe the trends in TBI-related deaths among different racial/ethnic groups and by sex, CDC analyzed death data from the National Vital Statistics System (NVSS) over an 18-year period (2000-2017). Injuries were also categorized by intent, and unintentional injuries were further categorized by mechanism of injury. In 2017, TBI contributed to 61,131 deaths in the United States, representing 2.2% of approximately 2.8 million deaths that year. From 2015 to 2017, 44% of TBI-related deaths were categorized as intentional injuries (i.e., homicides or suicides). The leading category of TBI-related death varied over time and by race/ethnicity. For example, during the last 10 years of the study period, suicide surpassed unintentional motor vehicle crashes as the leading category of TBI-related death. This shift was in part driven by a 32% increase in TBI-related suicide deaths among non-Hispanic whites. Firearm injury was the underlying mechanism of injury in nearly all (97%) TBI-related suicides among all groups. An analysis of TBI-related death rates by sex and race/ethnicity found that TBI-related deaths were significantly higher among males and persons who were American Indians/Alaska Natives (AI/ANs) than among all other groups across all years. Other leading categories of TBI-related deaths included unintentional motor vehicle crashes, unintentional falls, and homicide. Understanding the leading contributors to TBI-related death and identifying groups at increased risk is important in preventing this injury. Broader implementation of evidence-based TBI prevention efforts for the leading categories of injury, such as those aimed at stemming the significant increase in TBI-related deaths from suicide, are warranted.

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Conflict of interest statement

All authors have completed and submitted the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors form for disclosure of potential conflicts of interest. No potential conflicts of interest were disclosed.

Figures

FIGURE
FIGURE
Age-adjusted rates of traumatic brain injury–related deaths, by year and race/ethnicity — United States, 2000–2017 Abbreviations: AI/AN = American Indian/Alaska Native; A/PI = Asian/Pacific Islander. * Per 100,000 population. † Whites, Blacks, AI/AN, A/PI were non-Hispanic; Hispanic persons could be of any race.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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MeSH terms