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Brain Injury Statistics Reference Page

The statistics below are used as reference sources for various Centre for Neuro Skills educational materials, including LAM Cards and clinical presentations. Sources are reviewed and updated periodically to ensure accuracy and consistency.

STATISTIC SOURCE YEAR
Over 5.3 million people are living with a brain injury related disability Combined Fact Sheet 2023
  • Every 9 seconds, someone in the US sustains a brain injury
 BIAA Fact Sheet 2021
  • More than 3.6 million people sustain an ABI
 BIAA Fact Sheet 2021
  • At least 2.8 million sustain a TBI
 BIAA Fact Sheet 2021
  • 2.9 million TBI-related emergency department visits each year
 BIAA Fact Sheet 2025
  • 214,000 TBI related hospitalizations
 CDC 2020
  • More than 69,000 related deaths
 CDC 2021
  • Annually, more than 90,000 individuals are left with long-term disability each year from TBI.
 CDC 2024
  • 40% of those hospitalized with TBI had at least one unmet need for service one year after their injury.
 Journal of Neuroscience Nursing 2009
Populations at Risk
  • TBI is the leading cause of death and disability among children and adolescents with the two age groups at highest risk being 0-4 and 15-19.
 CDC 2018
  • Males are nearly two times more likely to be hospitalized and three times more likely to die from a TBI than females.
 CDC 2024
  • The highest TBI-related hospitalization and death rates occurred among individuals 75 years and older.
 CDC 2024
Leading Causes of Traumatic Brain Injury
  • Falls 48%
 BIAA Fact Sheet 2021
  • Motor vehicle accidents 13%
 BIAA Fact Sheet 2021
  • Struck by or against 17%
 BIAA Fact Sheet 2021
  • Assaults 9%
 BIAA Fact Sheet 2021
  • Unknown/Other 13%
 BIAA Fact Sheet 2021
Comparison of Prevalence Rates (total)
  • MS 1M
 National MS Society 2019
  • SCI 302,000
 National Spine Cord Injury Statistical Center 2023
  • HIV/AIDS 1.2M
 HIV.gov 2023
  • Prostrate Cancer 3.3M
 American Cancer Society 2023
  • Breast Cancer 4.1M
 American Cancer Society 2024
  • Brain Injury 12-15M living with a BI
 CDC 2024
  • 7M Stroke
 JAMA Neurology 2018
  • 5.3M TBI
 NIH 2025
  • 1.3M Brain Tumor
 SEER 2022
  • 6.7M Aneurysm
 Brain Aneurysm Foundation / Mayo Clinic 2021
Comparison of ANNUAL Rates
  • MS 9388
 Frontiers 2021
  • SCI 18k
 Spinalcord.com 2023
  • HIV/AIDS 32k
 HIV.gov 2022
  • Prostrate Cancer 255k
 CDC 2022
  • Breast Cancer 280k
 CDC 2022
  • Brain Injury 3.6M
 BIAA Fact Sheet 2021
  • Stroke 795k
 CDC
  • TBI 2.8M
 BIAA Fact Sheet 2021
  • Brain Tumor 25k
 SEER 2025
  • Aneurysm 30k
 Brain Aneurysm Foundation
  • 11-24k Viral Encephalitis
 John Hopkins
Cost of Traumatic Brain Injury
  • $40.6 Billion Direct Medical Costs Annually in the United States
 CDC 2016
  • $36 Billion Indirect costs
    (lost wages, lost time at work, social service costs)
 Medical Care 2016
  • $31.7 Billion Hospitalization cost
 Newsom Law/CDC
  • $16.6 Billion Associated with fatalities
 Newsom Law/CDC
  • Catastrophic injuries represent less than .1% of all workers compensation claims but account for more than 20% of claim reserve dollars.
 Business Insurance 2024
  • $85k to 4 MILLION
    Avg. lifetime cost per incident of moderate to severe TBI
 TBI
  • Federal program funding specific to TBI at CDC is ≈ $6.7 M/year, or about $1–$2 per person living with TBI-related disability in the U.S
 BIAA
Stroke Incidence / Statistics
  • One person every 40 seconds
 CDC 2024
  • 795,000 new or recurrent strokes annually
 CDC 2024
  • 38% of people hospitalized for stroke are under age 65
 CDC 2024
  • Stroke is the leading cause of long-term disability in the USA
 CDC 2024
  • Stroke is the 4th leading cause of death behind heart disease and cancer
 CDC 2023
  • Annual cost 56.2B
    Stroke-related medical costs and disability paid by Americans 2017
 CDC 2020
  • Stroke is a leading cause of death for women–1 in 5 between the ages of 55-75 will have a stroke.
 CDC 2024
MTBI Incidence/Statistics
  • Estimated 80% of all TBI are categorized as MTBI
 PMC PubMed Central 2022
  • A significant proportion of mild traumatic brain injuries are not recorded or treated, complicating accurate incidence estimates.
 PMC PubMed Central 2021
  • Up to 30 % of individuals who sustain a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) develop persisting symptoms after concussion
 JAMA Network 2025
  • Annual Cost 25.5 BILLION
    Federal Government termed “concussions a serious public health problem”
 CDC 2003
Covid-19 Incidence in the US
  • About 1 in 3 people who recover from COVID-19 experience neurological or cognitive symptoms in the following year.
 NIH PubMed 2023
  • Almost 60% of Americans (≈ 200 million people) showed evidence of past COVID-19 infection by February 2022.
 CDC 2022
  • Of those hospitalized with COVID-19, approximately 82% developed neurologic complications and about 49% developed acute encephalopathy.
 JAMA Network 2021
  • The most common neurologic symptoms include:
    • Difficulties with attention and concentration
    • Fatigue
    • Poor memory
    • Sleep disturbance
    • Dysarthia (problems with word finding)
  • These symptoms were diagnosed in 73-86% of individuals diagnosed with Long COVID. Additionally, moderate to severe anxiety and depression were diagnosed in 27-34% of individuals diagnosed with Long COVID.
 Frontiers 2025
  • A 2021 study of hospitalized patients at 3 months found:
    • 60% of the patients report pain symptom.
    • 71% of the patients still experienced neurological symptoms
    • 42% report fatigue
    • 25% report PTSD
 Frontiers
Frontiers
Frontiers
Frontiers
Frontiers		 2021
2021
2021
2021
2021
  • Presently, approximately 18 million Americans are diagnosed with Long COVID.
 Frontiers 2025
Sleep
  • Disruptive sleep is one of the most troubling realities of a brain injury, affecting up to 70% of those with a brain injury.
 Viola-Saltzman, M., & Watson, N. F. 2012
Nonspeaking Patients Communications Support
  • Enhancing non-speaking communication with patients checklist
 NIH 2014
  • Address communications breakdowns: Use PURE statements
 Aphasia Library n.d.
Glasgow Coma Scale GCS 2025
  • Glasgow Coma Scale Ranges
 NIH 2025
  • Severity of TBI
 NIH 2012

 

Last updated: April 2026

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