Most people aren’t aware of the main causes of traumatic brain injuries and who is most at risk. While there is a very diverse range of what can cause a traumatic brain injury, there are several very common causes of TBIs. The four most common causes of a traumatic brain injury are:
- Falls – 28%
- Motor vehicle-traffic crashes – 20%
- Stuck by/against events – 19%
- Assaults – 11%
Although a traumatic brain injury can happen to almost anyone, almost anywhere, the National Center for Injury Prevention in association with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have studied who is most at risk of suffering a traumatic brain injury:
- Males are about 1.5 times as likely as females to suffer from a TBI
- The two age groups at highest risk for a TBI are 0-4 years of age, and 15-19 years of age
- Certain military duties (i.e. paratrooper) increase the risk of sustaining a TBI
- African Americans have the highest death rate from TBIs