Year: 1996
Type: review
Abstract: In western countries injuries are the leading cause of death under the age of 45 years, and in several Third World countries that applies also for ages 5-45 years.Because many injury victims are young, more years of life are lost in males below the age of 65 from trauma than from cardiac and cerebrovascular disease, or from cancer, in the United States, Japan, and several European countries.'Up to half of trauma deaths are due to head injuries but these account for most cases of permanent disability after injury.2Recognition that head injury is a major health problem has led to sev- eral studies over the past decade to produce epidemiological data in order to devise effec- tive preventive measures, and to plan the most appropriate health care provision both for acute care and the rehabilitation of disabled survivors.Limitations of available data Reliable statistics are difficult to discover from routinely collected data.International comparisons of deaths from injury do not identify head injuries, although their incidence reflects geographical differences and trends over time in the frequency of trauma deaths as a whole.There are wide differences between countries in how many deaths are attributed to injuries, and how many injury deaths are due to motor
Author: B Jennett
Institution: University of Glasgow
Language: English
Subfield: Clinical Neurology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W2097233605