Study: More athletes dying from brain trauma
A recent study was released by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention showing a small increase in high school football player deaths attributed to brain and spinal injuries within the last few years. “The study, led by University of North Carolina researcher Kristen Kucera, shows that most traumatic head and spinal injury deaths from […]
A recent study was released by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention showing a small increase in high school football player deaths attributed to brain and spinal injuries within the last few years.
“The study, led by University of North Carolina researcher Kristen Kucera, shows that most traumatic head and spinal injury deaths from the years 2005-2014 occurred during games and were the result of tackling or being tackled,” according to an article posted on the Athletic Business website. “The study, which has been gathering data about college and high school football-related injuries since 1965, found that roughly 20 percent of brain injury-related fatalities occurred in players who had suffered a previous concussion within a month of the fatal injury.
Each year, traumatic brain injuries (TBI) contribute to a substantial number of deaths and cases of permanent disability. A TBI is caused by a bump, blow or jolt to the head or a penetrating head injury that disrupts the normal function of the brain. The severity of a TBI may range from “mild” to “severe”.
According to the CDC, an estimated 1.7 million people sustain a TBI each year.
Of them:
- 52,000 die,
- 275,000 are hospitalized, and
- 365 million, nearly 80 percent, are treated and released from an emergency department.
- TBI is a contributing factor to a third (30.5%) of all injury-related deaths in the United States.
- About 75 percent of TBIs that occur each year are concussions or other forms of mild traumatic brain injury(MTBI).
Children aged 0 to 4 years, older adolescents aged 15 to 19 years, and adults aged 65 years and older are most likely to sustain a TBI.
Falls are the leading cause of TBI. Motor vehicle–traffic injury is the leading cause of TBI-related death. Rates are highest for adults aged 20 to 24 years.
“UNC’s Kucera told CBS News that the fatality rate due to brain and spinal injuries in young football players is still lower than in past decades,” the article reads. “In the years 1965-1974, approximately 4 times the number of fatal injuries occurred as in the years 2005-2014.”
Kucera attributes the decrease to better helmet safety, league regulations, and improvements in medical care.
“According to Kucera, it is possible that the recent increase in head and spinal injury-related deaths shown by the study is merely caused by an increase of media attention and greater accuracy in injury reporting,” the article reads.
