Work-Related Deaths from Traumatic Brain Injury in the US: Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, 2007

Purpose: While traumatic brain injury (TBI) is one of the leading causes of death and lifelong disability in the US, work-related TBI deaths have not been well documented. We analyzed data from the US Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries database (CFOI) to examine the epidemiological characteristics of work-related TBI deaths.

Methods: We performed a cross-sectional analysis of the 2007 CFOI database. Both the Occupational Injury and Illness Classification System (OIICS) nature of injury code (06 series, ‘Intracranial Injuries') and OIICS body part code (00 series, ‘Head') were used to define TBIs. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) was used to classify industry. Work-related fatality rates and relative risks were calculated by using denominators derived from the Current Population Survey of employment data.

Results: A total of 1,164 TBI deaths occurred in 2007 (rate of 8.0 per 1,000,000 workers). Falls, motor-vehicle crashes, and shootings/assaults were the three leading causes of TBI-related death (n=365, 31%; n=321, 28%; n=171, 15%, respectively). Fatality rates were 11 times higher in men compared with women (13.9 per 1,000,000 & 1.2 per 1,000,000; RR=11.7, 95% CI=9.1-14.1). Workers 65 years of age and older had the highest fatality rates of all age groups (24.2 per 1,000,000). Construction, transportation, and agriculture/forestry/fishing industries recorded nearly half of all TBI fatalities (n=302, 26%; n=128, 11%; n=105, 9%, respectively).

Conclusions: This study provides profiles of work-related TBI to improve our understanding and awareness of TBI in the workplace and to better inform future prevention efforts.