The incidence of brain trauma caused by road injuries: Results from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Abstract

BackgroundRoad collisions are a significant source of traumatic brain injury (TBI). We aimed to determine the pattern of road injury related TBI (RI-TBI) incidence, as well as its temporal trends. MethodsWe collected detailed information on RI-TBI between 1990 and 2019, derived from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. Estimated annual percentage changes (EAPCs) of RI-TBI age standardized incidence rate (ASIR), by sex, region, and cause of road injuries, were assessed to quantify the temporal trends of RI-TBI burden. ResultsGlobally, incident cases of RI-TBI increased 68.1% from 6,900,000 in 1990 to 11,600,000 in 2019. The overall ASIR increased by an average of 0.43% (95% CI 0.30%–0.56%) per year during this period. The ASIR of RI-TBI due to cyclist, motorcyclist and other road injuries increased between 1990 and 2019; the corresponding EAPCs were 0.56 (95% CI 0.37–0.75), 1.60 (95% CI 1.35–1.86), and 0.75 (95% CI 0.59–0.91), respectively. In contrast, the ASIR of RI-TBI due to motor vehicle and pedestrian decreased with an EAPC of –0.12 and –0.14 respectively. The changing pattern for RI-TBI was heterogeneous across countries and regions. The most pronounced increases were observed in Mexico (EAPC = 3.74), followed by China (EAPC = 2.45) and Lesotho (EAPC = 1.91). ConclusionsRI-TBI remains a major public health concern worldwide, although road safety legislations have contributed to the decreasing incidence in some countries. We found an unfavorable trend in several countries with a relatively low socio-demographic index, suggesting that much more targeted and specific approaches should be adopted in these areas to forestall the increase in RI-TBI.