Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2025 Apr 14:13:1556147.
doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1556147. eCollection 2025.

Global, regional, and national burdens of traumatic brain injury from 1990 to 2021

Junqing Yan  1 , Chao Wang  1 , Bangqing Sun  1
Affiliations

Global, regional, and national burdens of traumatic brain injury from 1990 to 2021

Junqing Yan et al. Front Public Health. .

Abstract

Background: Of all the injuries on a global scale, traumatic brain injury (TBI) has the most serious consequences for the individual. Depending on its severity, it can be classified as minor, moderate, or severe, but even minor TBI can sometimes still cause severe functional deficits. This study seeks to assess the latest burden of TBI and analyze their differences in terms of country, age, sex, and cause.

Methods: Based on the Global Burden of Diseases database, the incidence, years lived with disability (YLDs), and causes of total head injuries, minor TBI, and moderate/severe TBI from 1990 to 2021 were analyzed separately by sex, age group, and region.

Results: In 2021, there were 20,837,465 [95% uncertainty interval (UI): 18,128,306-23,839,393] new cases of TBI worldwide, with an age-standardized incidence of 259 cases per 100,000 population (95% UI: 226-296). From 1990 to 2021, there was a decline in global age-standardized incidence (estimated annual percentage change: -0.11, 95% UI: -0.18% to -0.04%). In 2021, countries with higher rates will be mainly in Central and Eastern Europe and the Middle East. In 2021, the global incidence of TBI in all age groups was higher in men than in women. Falls are the leading cause for most age groups in most areas.

Discussion: TBI still accounts for a significant portion of the global injury burden in 2021, but differences do exist between countries. This study introduced the possibility of TBI with different degrees and the trend of injury causes in different age groups and regions from 1990 to 2021, providing a basis for further research on injury causes in different regions and formulating corresponding policies and protection measures in the future.

Keywords: burden of disease; epidemiology; global health; public health; traumatic brain injury.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(A) Age-standardised incidence rates per 100,000 persons of TBI by countries/territories, 2021; (B) Ratio of moderate/severe TBI incidence by countries/territories, 2021; (C) Male to female ratio of TBI incidence by countries/territories, 2021.
Figure 2
Figure 2
(A) Global incidence of TBI by age and sex, 2021; (B) Global incidence of minor TBI by age and sex, 2021; (C) Global incidence of moderate/severe TBI by age and sex, 2021.
Figure 3
Figure 3
(A) The leading causes for age-standardised incidence rates of TBI by countries/territories, 2021; (B) The leading causes for age-standardised incidence rates of minor TBI by countries/territories, 2021; (C) The leading causes for age-standardised incidence rates of moderate/severe TBI by countries/territories, 2021.
Figure 4
Figure 4
(A) Percentage of TBI causes for both sexes by age, 2021; (B) Percentage of minor TBI causes for both sexes by age, 2021; (C) Percentage of moderate/severe TBI causes for both sexes by age, 2021.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Composition of age-standardized incidence of minor and moderate/severe TBI by different causes, 2021.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Barbiellini Amidei C, Salmaso L, Fedeli U, Saia M. Traumatic brain injury incidence and mortality: a large population-based study. J Neurol. (2024) 271:4430–40. doi: 10.1007/s00415-024-12386-1, PMID: - DOI - PubMed
    1. Asehnoune K, Lasocki S, Seguin P, Geeraerts T, Perrigault PF, Dahyot-Fizelier C, et al. . Association between continuous hyperosmolar therapy and survival in patients with traumatic brain injury - a multicentre prospective cohort study and systematic review. Crit Care. (2017) 21:328. doi: 10.1186/s13054-017-1918-4, PMID: - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Myburgh JA, Cooper DJ, Finfer SR, Venkatesh B, Jones D, Higgins A, et al. . Epidemiology and 12-month outcomes from traumatic brain injury in Australia and New Zealand. J Trauma. (2008) 64:854–62. doi: 10.1097/TA.0b013e3180340e77 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Andelic N, Howe EI, Hellstrom T, Sanchez MF, Lu J, Lovstad M, et al. . Disability and quality of life 20 years after traumatic brain injury. Brain Behav. (2018) 8:e01018. doi: 10.1002/brb3.1018, PMID: - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Sloan SWD, Anson K. Long-term outcome following traumatic brain injury. Brain Impairment. (2007) 8:251–61. doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-78075-3_34 - DOI

LinkOut - more resources