How to prevent traumatic brain injury in children and teenagers?
Children and teenagers are prone to traumatic brain injuries (TBI). Over a million of them check in an emergency room in the US for a non fatal Traumatic Brain Injury every year. A recent study conducted by researchers under the lead of Bina Ali for the nonprofit Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation looked at the causes of these injuries. To do so the researchers used data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System. They found that between 2010 and 2013 more than 4 million children were diagnosed by emergency room doctors for non fatal TBI.
Among the different categories of ages, those the most prone to suffer TBI were among the youngest and among the oldest. 1,085,680 children between the age of 1 and 4 and 1,107,463 teenagers between 15 and 19 year old were diagnosed with TBI during the period under review.
The causes of TBI vary depending on the age of the child. Almost 3 quarters of TBIs suffered by toddlers were related to home fixtures, furniture and structures. Falling from chairs and beds were the most common furniture related accidents while tripping on the floor or falling down the stairs caused the most TBIs related to home fixtures and structures.