Why Men Suffer More Acquired Brain Injury

What defines a Traumatic Brain Injury?

The National Head Injury Foundation (NHIF) describes traumatic brain injury as, “an insult to the brain caused by an external force that may produce diminished or altered states of consciousness, which results in impaired cognitive abilities or physical functioning”. In other words, injury caused by things such as a blow from a blunt object, a bottle, a wall, or an object like a bullet penetrating the skull, will cause injury, sometimes permanent, that affects the way we think and behave. It may cause no loss of consciousness, or may result in death or a coma or what has become know as a persistent vegetative state.

The Facts in Brief

• It is estimated that 2-3 males sustain a traumatic brain injury for every one female.
• The peak age range is 15-24 years. Also a high incident in the very young and elderly.
• It is estimated that for every one person admitted to hospital, three will be seen in hospital emergency departments and allowed to go home.
• Estimates of hospitalization following head injury in Britain, the United States and Australia is between 200 to 300 per 100,000 of the population.
• Recovery may be complete or partial. Some people will require periods of hospitalization and rehabilitation.
• Improvement following severe brain injury can take up to 10 years, or even longer.
• More people are surviving severe brain injury resulting in a rapid growth of young disabled who more often than not will require some sort of support for decades.
• More people are requiring specialist services.
• Trauma is the most common form of acquired brain injury.
• Approximately half to 70% of all traumatic brain injury are caused by motor vehicle accidents.
• Other common causes involve falls (particularly in the very young and elderly), assaults and sporting accidents.
• There is a high association of brain trauma with lower socio-economic status.
  

So Why More Men?

The peak age for Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is between 15 and 24 years. The reason for this is that men are more likely to engage in activities that make them more vulnerable. It is estimated that between 50%-70% of TBIs are the result of road traffic accidents, cars crashes, motor bikes, push bikes. Motor vehicle insurers know that men are more likely to make a claim than women as a result of accidents, hence premiums are often higher for men under the age of 30 or sometimes 40+. 

Young men are also more likely to get into fights involving weapons and fire arms, often after drinking too much alcohol. Men are also more likely to engage in high risk or contact sports such as karate, football, hockey, etc.

The last of the main contributors to head injury in men involves work. Men are far more likely to be employed in occupations that carry some form of industrial risk and that often involve heavy equipment or manual labor. The likelihood of accidents increase where proper safety precautions are not followed, or when for any number of reasons such as illness or fatigue, men lose concentration.

One clear implication of the statistics is that most incidents of traumatic head injury are avoidable.