Citation

Kim HK, Leigh JH, Lee YS, Choi Y, Kim Y, Kim JE, Cho WS, Seo HG, Oh BM. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020; 17(17): e6197.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, MDPI: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute)

DOI

10.3390/ijerph17176197

PMID

32859061

Abstract

Traumatic brain injury (TBI), a global public health concern, may lead to death and major disability. While various short-term, small-sample, and cross-sectional studies on TBI have been conducted in South Korea, there is a lack of clarity on the nationwide longitudinal TBI trends in the country. This retrospective study investigated the epidemiological TBI trends in South Korea, using a population-based dataset of the National Health Insurance (2008-2017). The crude and age adjusted TBI incidence and mortality values were calculated and stratified by age, sex, and TBI diagnosis. The age-adjusted incidence per 100,000 people increased until 2010 and showed a decreasing trend (475.8 cases in 2017) thereafter; however, a continuously decreasing age-adjusted mortality trend was observed (42.9 cases in 2008, 11.3 in 2017). The crude incidence rate increased continually in those aged >70 years across all the TBI diagnostic categories. The mortality per 100,000 people was significantly higher among participants aged ≥70 years than in the other age groups. We observed changing trends in the TBI incidence, with a continuously decreasing overall incidence and a rapidly increasing incidence and high mortality values in older adults. Our findings highlight the importance of active TBI prevention in elderly people.

Language: en

Keywords

epidemiology; incidence; traumatic brain injury; mortality; longitudinal study