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Disparities in traumatic brain injury-related deaths-the United States, 2021
Alexis Peterson1, Karen Thomas1, Scott Kegler1
1Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC), Division of Injury Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
Objectives:
This manuscript describes traumatic brain injury (TBI)-related mortality in the United States during 2021, by geography, sociodemographic characteristics, mechanism of injury, and injury intent.
Method:
Multivariable modeling of TBI mortality was performed to assess the simultaneous effect of multiple factors (geographic region, sex, race and ethnicity, and age) included in the model. Authors analyzed multiple-cause-of-death data from the National Vital Statistics System and included records when an International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) underlying cause of death injury code, and a TBI-related ICD-10 diagnosis code were both listed.
Results:
During 2021, there were 69,473 TBI-related deaths. Rates were highest among older adults, males, and non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Native persons. A large proportion of all TBI-related deaths were attributed to unintentional falls and suicides. Model-based rates of TBI mortality revealed a divergent pattern with increasing rates by age group, while rate ratios simultaneously declined with age among specific racial/ethnic groups when compared with non-Hispanic White persons.
Conclusion:
Findings indicate unintentional falls and suicides remain a common cause of fatal TBI and specific groups are disproportionally affected by such injuries. Health care providers can play a role by assessing patients at increased risk for TBI and providing referrals for care and culturally tailored interventions when warranted.
