Traumatic Brain Injury in the United States: Emergency Department Visits, Hospitalizations and Deaths 2002-2006

At least 1.7 million people sustain a traumatic brain injury (TBI) in the United States each year. Of those individuals, about 52,000 die, 275,000 are hospitalized, and 1.365 million are treated and released from an emergency department. The number of people with TBI who are not seen in a hospital or emergency department or who receive no care is currently unknown.

Population-based data on TBI are critical to understanding its impact on the American people. Knowing who is affected by TBIs and how they occur can help shape prevention strategies, priorities for research, and also support the need for services among individuals living with TBI.

CDC’s report Traumatic Brain Injury in the United States: Emergency Department Visits, Hospitalizations, and Deaths, 2002-2006 presents data on the incidence of TBI and is an update to CDC’s previously published report released in 2006. This current report presents data on emergency department visits, hospitalizations, and deaths for the years 2002 through 2006.

Data in the Report Include:
TBI as a portion of All Injuries
Annual Number of TBI [PDF 39KB]
TBI by Age [PDF 59KB]
TBI by Sex [PDF 47KB}
TBI by Race
TBI by External Cause [PDF 123KB]
Additional TBI Findings

Get the Facts

• Download “Get the Stats on Traumatic Brain Injury in the United States [PDF-476K]” fact sheet for an overview of key findings in the report.
• Tracking Traumatic Brain Injuries in the U.S.,  download press release about the key findings in the report.

TBI Estimates by State

CDC currently funds 30 states to conduct basic TBI surveillance through the CORE state Injury Program.

To find TBI-related death and hospitalization data by participating CORE states, see the State Injury Indicators Reports. (Note: Not all states participate in the submission of TBI- and other injury-related data compiled in this report.)