Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is an important public health problem in the United States and worldwide. The estimated 5.3 million Americans living with TBI-related disability face numerous challenges in their efforts to return to a full and productive life. This article presents an overview of the epidemiology and impact of TBI.

Highlights of the Results Each year in the United States: • At least 1.4 million people sustain a TBI. Of them, about 50,000 die, 235,000 are hospitalized, and 1.1 million are treated and released from an ED. Purpose of the Report Traumatic Brain Injury in the United States: Emergency Department Visits, Hospitalizations, and Deaths presents basic data on the incidence of TBI. It goes beyond previous reports by including ED visits, and answers a wide range of important questions about how many TBIs occur each year in the United States, who is affected, and how these TBIs occur. These data can answer questions such as "Do men sustain TBIs more often than women? Are children more likely to have a TBI than adults? How important are motor vehicles as a cause of TBI among older adults?" This report is intended as a reference for policy makers, service providers, educators, researchers, advocates, and others interested in knowing more about the impact of TBI in the United States. This important information can be used to document the need for TBI prevention, to identify priorities for research, and to support the need for services among those living with TBI-related disability.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is an important public health problem in the United States. In 2003, there were an estimated 1,565,000 TBIs in the United States: 1,224,000 emergency department visits, 290,000 hospitalizations, and 51,000 deaths. Findings were similar to those from previous years in which rates of TBI were highest for young children (aged 0-4) and men, and the leading causes of TBI were falls and motor vehicle traffic.